Hello, I am worried about being misdiagnosed with Autism. Please help me understand

Hello,

My name is Josh. I am 25.

I have a very bad stutter, I have since I could first speak. I also have social anxiety. I have always attributed my problems socially to those 2 problems.

I am intelligent, I have a first class degree in Computer Science. I have been out of work and study for 3-4 years now. I quit my job as a software Engineer because I found it over whelming.

I have become a recluse, I do not go out and I have no friends. I have no desire to change, but I know my lifestyle is damaging my future. 

I have interacted with other people who stutter, through a course I went on. They were able to maintain a career and even have relationships. 

I have never been able to do these things, and I started to wonder maybe I have more issues than just stuttering/anxiety. 


I spoke to my Mum about possibly having Autism, she thinks I do share traits with an Autism diagnosis. I spoke to my GP about it, and they have referred me to have an assessment for autism.

I am worried, because when I speak about my Autism symptoms, I feel like I am faking it. I feel like I am trying to con them into thinking I have autism. It's a really horrible feeling.

I have always had a really hard time, fitting in. I never had friends at school or university. I find social interactions very overwhelming and I have a tenancy to isolate myself. I went through all of university not speaking to anyone except my flatmate.

An autism diagnosis does make a lot of sense, it would explain a lot of my struggles in life. But I am also worried, my stutter and anxiety have create autism like symptoms even though I am not autistic.

I am worried if I am diagnosed. That I won't be able to get a job again in the future. 

I am sorry if this is hard to read, I havnt slept and I just got home from the GP. I hope someone who knows a lot about autism reads this, and can understand my perspective.

Thank you very much for reading,

Josh