Hello and help?

Hey Sam, ASD is complex so don’t worry too much about trying to fit yourself into a single box... the chances are you have a number of different traits and these traits in turn impact personality and so forth. Anxiety is tricky especially if you fear being told differently and I don’t know what best to recommend. I am happy to share my experiences, talk traits etc, if you’d rather do it privately send me a direct message :) what I will say is be confident in who you are, the labels are inconsequential:) Like I said, here if you need me :)

yea i was convinced it would be "go away you're normal" so when they told me know are clearly on the spectrum I couldnt speak with shock for about 3 days !

I have personas i switch between bepending on who I am talking to.

Some of my personas are very aggressive/defensive., one is pure strategy, one is highly creative, one i call "the coach" and is really postive and is incredibly useful during hikes running mountain walks.

My mum is a Chameleon and takes on the accent of the person she is speaking to immediately. It means she can get great deals in shops etc a great skill. 

 anyways do u thik you  u will go to yout GP(doctor) for a referal ?

Welcome, it sounds like we're in the same boat except nobody ever suggested autism to me, it's just something I've come to on my own.

I don't know anybody in real life who has ASD so I didn't know anything about it when I began researching, but so much I have read makes so much sense to me.

I'm also worried about asking for a referral because I'm not sure I'd be believed.

Thankyou for sharing your story with me, it has helped my doubts and anxiety about it all

Hi swiftey90,

Thank you for sharing this with the community. I'm sure lots of community members will share similar experiences with you.

You may like to look at our information about autism spectrum disorders:
http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is.aspx

If you were interested in finding out if you are on the autism spectrum, you would need to have a formal diagnostic assessment. You may find it useful to have a look at the following link for further information about diagnosis and the benefits of getting one:

http://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis.aspx 

Furthermore, it is important the professional you see has experience of autism spectrum disorders. You can find details of diagnostic services on our Autism Services Directory in the Assessment and diagnosis section:http://www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx

You may like to have a look at the following page which includes personal accounts, which may help:http://www.autism.org.uk/about/adult-life/stories.aspx

It might also be useful to pass on information about autism to health professionals when seeking a diagnosis. The following page includes information for a range of health professionals: 

https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/professionals-involved.aspx

If you have further questions, you may like to contact our Autism Helpline team. They can provide you with information and advice about getting a diagnosis. You can call them on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm).Please note that the Helpline is experiencing a high volume of calls and it may take a couple of attempts before you get through to speak to an advisor.

I hope this helps,

ChloeMod

Welcome, Sam.

I'm a male, diagnosed a few years ago in my mid-forties, and very much a "social chameleon" autistic, as are many other males whom I've spoken to since my diagnosis. In fact, there was a topic only a short while ago (LINK) discussing the stereotyping of autistic presentation by sex or gender, and the danger that, if taken too far, it could lead to the exclusion of "chameleon" males (or "non-chameleon" females and non-binary autistics). There is enough research to confirm the general trend, for sure; but the true picture is far more complex and poorly researched, and masking is only one coping strategy among many, which may be employed to different degrees according to personality or circumstances.

From what I can tell, masking in males has much the same consequences as for females too - a tendency to be "people-pleasers", problems with anxiety and depression, a wobbly sense of identity, and periods of "burn-out" where the strain of keeping up the mask finally results in severe exhaustion and possibly the shutting-down of mental functions or melt-downs. Many of us have been through multiple cycles of burn-out and picking ourselves back up again as far back as our school years.

So if your other traits are consistent with autism, your masking should not exclude you from a diagnosis, should you seek one - and that's a topic which you can get a lot of good advice about here. And diagnosed or not, you'll be made just as welcome here; it's a really friendly and supportive little community - indeed, it's benefitted me immensely since I started my own journey of discovery.

Best wishes.