Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello all,
I have been recently diagnosed after my assessment last week. I am 31 and always struggled my whole life and feel like I don’t fit in. It seemed certain I would get a diagnosis based on the difficulties I have and from my experiences of working with students with ASD; however even though this was expected I am still struggling with the diagnosis and getting upset, trying to accept it, push it away etc.
How long did it take you all to accept the diagnosis? I know it is a good thing in the sense that it gives me answers to my difficulties.
Nice to meet you all and it would be helpful to get to know some of you and get some advice on the difficulties I face as I feel very isolated with this currently.
Hi, welcome! I was diagnosed at 30 (I'm 32 now) and for me it's been an ongoing process of discovery, and also seeing past memories in a new light. It did take a while to get used to the idea, especially in the first few months, but overall it's been a very positive process, and I'm really glad I was diagnosed. I hope you'll find this forum to be a great place to read and discuss things, it's really helped me. Wishing you the best
Thank you that is reassuring to hear and of course you are the same age as me :) could I ask if you don’t mind, what are your difficulties? Are you high functioning? I have my own place, job as a teacher etc but certainly routines are massively important to me and last minute changes! I have meltdowns too when I feel overloaded with information.,
No problem, I was diagnosed with ASC and meet some of the criteria for autism, and have a job and live on my own. I'm also looking into getting tested for auditory processing disorder as I have some issues with my hearing - though my ears are fine, hearing tech that dims background sounds and amplifies speech helps a lot and also reduces sensory overload. Have you tried anything like noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs at all?
I do plan a lot, and have timetables for things like meals and trackers for things generally! Living alone was the right choice for me, though it's good to try and have a balance and not get too isolated I think. I didn't consider noise-cancelling headphones until I was diagnosed and then was so surprised by how much they helped!
Thank you for sharing, are you rigid with routines and a need to plan? I am terrible for that! I prefer living alone although I feel lonely at Times...how do you find it? It’s not overwhelming in the sense that I would need earplugs etc..it’s more from information overload when I have too many things to process such as at work when I have a lot to do or a lot of new information is given to me. I hate loud noise but it is more things like children crying, sirens, hand dryers etc!