Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, I'm Sam, I'm 29 years old and a Male. I have not been diagnosed with ASD or any similar traits thereof. I have lived my life feeling different and constantly 'stupider' and 'weirder' than my peers for lack of a better term. I had a bit of a melt down prior to work a month or so ago and I called in sick, and following this spoke to some friends and family about everything and it was pointed out that I have traits to Autism, something my parents always thought but for some reason never chose to follow it up with a doctor. I have spent the past month researching every paragraph and watching every video and I feel I fit in to 'high functioning' ASD with chameleon, or camofluaging, traits as I have spent the majority of my life covering up my eccentricities once they had been recognised, to appear more normal. The issue is I am deathly afraid of being wrong, always. I cannot find any literature on males camofluaging Autistic traits, it seems very much agreed this is a female thing. I am scared of approaching the GP in case they say 'no you're wrong, this isnt this, there isnt anything wrong' because I dont feel settled with that answer
Can anyone help? Does anyone have any answers or experiences the same as mine as an adult male?
Many thanks
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