Late autism diagnosis, now it all makes sense

100% with you, diagnosed 3 years ago at the age of 61 & although I still face the same everyday challenges it's now so much easier to manage my life by avoiding or minimising exposure to things that I know cause me issues.

I'm also able to recognise & focus on the good things that autism has bestowed on me. 

Absolutely. I'm right with you.

My diagnosis (very recently - mid forties) was a "coming home" moment. Everything slotted into place - and I was no longer judging myself by the standards of a society and culture which isn't geared towards me. I could never "get" why I never "got" people - why I never knew how to handle friendships or relationships, why I was so tired all the time (people - living alone with a cat has been a godsend), why I found new groups , environments - any kind of change - stressful, and in the main just barely functioning in a world which made no damned sense. 

Until then I was diagnosed as depressed (which admittedly I was, but that was the icing on the cake) and was on a continuous hamster-wheel of self-analysis trying to understand why I felt so out of place and why the world seemed so disordered. If I had a set-back it'd take me an incredibly long time to recover. I always had difficulty with processing emotions and understanding other people's motivations... I seem to operate on very rule-bound perspective which seemed perfectly obvious to me and I could never understand why other people didn't see things the same way. Family (sadly) weren't very supportive so it was always a case of "getting on with it" - except I didn't know how to, apart from adopting a persona to function and that only went so far.

I kept looking for causes, roles - anything - that would give me a sense of identity and a place in the world. Religion worked for a while, until I unpicked it and I saw it was all make-believe. Everything fell short because my expectations were too high and I laboured under the illusion there was someone who had figured this out.... ....except no-one had.

So understanding that I have traits that are not neurotypical has allowed me to drop all that, finally understand who I am and why I see things the way I do and to *finally* process my chequered and confusing history and be a lot kinder to my younger self. I've regrets about my career (I'm over-qualified for what I do), but looking back, I made what I thought were the best choices at the time on the information I had. Missed opportunities still sting a bit - but I'm realising that's part of the course.

I'm really happy that you've found peace and life is easier post-diagnosis. It's an experience I can wholeheartedly relate to. My diagnosis transformed my worldview - still working through things, but for the first time I feel I'm living with myself, not fighting against myself.

Wishing you the very best for the future. 

E

I was diagnosed a year ago at the age of 60 - had it done privately. In common with many others so much of my life began to make sense. Whilst some things remain a challenge (and always will I guess) my level of anxiety and self criticism has subsided. 

I got diagnosed a few years ago and I find processing my thoughts and emotions very challenging. 

gee, how long does peace take? diagnosed at 62, 65 now... certainly some things now make more sense........ i no i'm sensitive to just about everything and anything. finally, i no i am NOT nt. i've got to organize my entire life and existence around my asd. lost a number of "friends" in rapid succession. ok, now i get why i was never successful in school, work, uh... well, life.

now trying to scrape my way out. ok, for a rarity, last night i rearranged a bunch of those plastic boxes holding various hardware in the little bins. was able to attend to it and it all went well. wouldn't really have been able to do that very well before. now, that activity kind of makes sense. also, finding that it is kind of enjoyable. never new that b4. it was mainly just frustrating and flailing away. then giving up.

happy friday. lol.

yes, now there is more peace

Yes, NAS67239, I have a similar story.

After decades of living with the three 'MIS'es you list above, I took matters into my own hands and went private. I soon knew that I qualified for ASD on many counts. 

Life is now so much better. 

I've not been on this forum long, but there are many 'late-diagnosed' here.

We are not alone!

Ben

Peace can only mean progress .

totaliy get that  but its still hard