Just been diagnosed with ASD. I'm not sure what happens now...

Hello, I'm Joe, 31, from Manchester.

I have recently been diagnosed as having an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I have joined because...

• I would like to engage with others who have Autism/are on the spectrum; and
• I am currently experiencing difficulties and would like advice from those with lived experience.

On the latter, I am struggling to come to terms with my ASD diagnosis. I feel angry about the mistreatment I have experienced since school and in every workplace in which I have been employed; mistreatment that I can plausibly attribute to my ASD. Alongside other trauma that I am experiencing, my current situation is really overwhelming, to the extent that I am having nightly meltdowns. I have also been intensely suicidal.

How did you proceed after diagnosis, if you were diagnosed as an adult? What sources of support did you find most helpful? I'm particularly keen on finding the right sources of support. I have sought a lot of support previously, which hasn't helped too much, likely because it wasn't the support I needed.

I look forward to engaging with you all, even when I am not in the doldrums.