I'm new here! Mid-20s adult awaiting diagnosis.

Hi everyone.

I've wanted to join this forum for months, but I've been really nervous about it! I've been waiting for my autism assessment for quite a while now and I've just received my pre-assessment questionnaires. 

My family and I have suspected that I'm autistic for many years, but I've never felt able to identify as a member of the autistic community until I truly knew for sure. The traits have always been there, but I've found everything's heightening as I get older - particularly the sensory issues and processing delays. Saying that, I often get those moments where I feel like a fraud and wonder whether I'm just overthinking everything. Most of the time, I do believe that I'm autistic and would benefit from a diagnosis to help me get to know myself better.

I also have anxiety and OCD, and I'm due to start "heightened" CBT (whatever that means?) to try and tackle my compulsive behaviours. I am a little scared because some of my symptoms are definitely OCD (e.g. intrusive thoughts), but what if I accidentally start erasing the repetitive routines that are beneficial to autistic people??

I'm a huge music lover; I sing, play piano and perform in musicals. I also love dogs (being with them and learning about them)... I memorised the breeds at a very young age! In my spare time, I enjoy writing, particularly poetry and novels (although I'm yet to finish a novel as I flit from project to project, and I have a habit of signing up to things that eat away at my time).

I'd love to hear from people about their own experiences, particularly in relation to the autism assessment and seeking support from mental health.

Nice to meet you all Slight smile

Parents
  • Hello! I was on a three year waiting list but my mum has said she will help me pay for a private assessment - just got my questionnaires too! There really confusing but I'm slowly getting there. 

    I love musicals and sing (soprano) but I couldn't perform. I was the same as you with dog breeds. I love going to the country park and seeing how many different breeds there are. People are always impressed if you can guess a little known breed, especially if they have a doodle look :P  I was lucky enough to work with a breeder a few years ago. And I'm a writer too, so it seems we have a lot in common :) 

    Welcome to the forum!

  • Wow, three years is a very long time! I'm finding them really confusing too (although my neurotypical partner say they seem pretty straightforward, so maybe that's an indicator in itself!). 

    I'm an alto. I never had the confidence to perform as a child, but I started out in choirs, took singing lessons, and found my confidence grew from there. I love being able to identify a dog breed for people, but I do find I tend to start spouting random breed facts and realise I've said too much Slight smile I'm so jealous - what breeds did you work with? What type of writing do you enjoy?

    It does sound like we have lots in common Slight smile 

  • All my life my mum told me I'd eventually meet people like me, but it didn't happen till I discovered this forum :) 

    I was in the choir at school and had a few lessons when I lived in Scotland. I am much more confident now, and my singing teacher tried to encourage me to study musical theatre, but I can't really act, and I always feel quite isolated in group activities. I would like to sing more, maybe join a choir when my little boy's a bit older, but I'm quite happy singing in the car or when doing the washing up Stuck out tongue

    Having a child is good for the random facts -  you just look like you're teaching them things Stuck out tongue It would be crossing an anxiety boundary to talk to strangers, no matter how much I want to stroke the dog!

    It was a great job! She was big in Irish Wolfhounds (judged them at crufts 2013) but only had two while I was there. She'd moved onto Basset Fauve de Bretagne and Griffon Fauve de Bretagne, the latter of which the breeder was pioneering in Britain. They're currently on the import register. All hounds - I love hounds Slight smile do you have doggies atm?

    Generally fiction though I'm no good at short stories. Like you, I rarely finish anything :P I worked on my first novel for 5 years (still do on occasion) and still didn't get it to the level I was happy with. I've done a bit of poetry as well but only when inspiration strikes, and at Uni when I went through a poetry phase (I did Eng Lit.) I did have one published on a website but I think that's cos they didn't have many submissions...

    https://poemsoncrime.blogspot.com/2018/06/abbey-rose-chivers.html

  • Singing in the car is the best kind of singing anyway Slight smile

    Haha, I should clarify, I don't tend to talk dog facts to strangers. Mostly the friend/family member/colleague I'm with at the time Slight smile

    I'm even more jealous. Irish Wolfhounds are one of my absolute favourites; we've actually talked about having an Irish Wolfhound when we're ready to have a dog. We've chosen a name and everything. All of those are lovely breeds and I'd love to work with them Slight smile I don't have a dog at the moment because my landlady doesn't allow them, but I grew up with dogs (two Shih Tzus, who are still with my parents, and a mixed-breed who seemed to have a bit of Corgi/Sptiz in him). 

    I know what you mean about going through phases - I can have a period of time where poems just randomly come to me, then there might be a dry spell for a few months before it comes back again. That's a fantastic poem - thanks for sharing.

Reply
  • Singing in the car is the best kind of singing anyway Slight smile

    Haha, I should clarify, I don't tend to talk dog facts to strangers. Mostly the friend/family member/colleague I'm with at the time Slight smile

    I'm even more jealous. Irish Wolfhounds are one of my absolute favourites; we've actually talked about having an Irish Wolfhound when we're ready to have a dog. We've chosen a name and everything. All of those are lovely breeds and I'd love to work with them Slight smile I don't have a dog at the moment because my landlady doesn't allow them, but I grew up with dogs (two Shih Tzus, who are still with my parents, and a mixed-breed who seemed to have a bit of Corgi/Sptiz in him). 

    I know what you mean about going through phases - I can have a period of time where poems just randomly come to me, then there might be a dry spell for a few months before it comes back again. That's a fantastic poem - thanks for sharing.

Children
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