New to the forum and to the diagnosis!

Hi there,

I've been trying to pluck up my courage for a while to reach out on a forum like this, but it feels very daunting, not sure how it all works! So here goes... I'm a 37 year old woman diagnosed with ADHD about 5 years ago and autism Feb this year, after many years of incorrect diagnoses and struggles. I think I've masked for so long that I'm sort of going through a bit of an identity crisis, trying to work out what has been me and what has been masking etc. I'm guessing that's reasonably common among late diagnosed people? I don't know any other autistic people (well not any who have told me they are anyway!) and would really like to connect with other people with similar experiences etc. I emigrated to the UK 2 and a half years ago (during the height of the pandemic!) and have basically just not managed to connect with many people since then. I've always struggled to make friends, and had finally got some great ones, and then left the country, so it's been tricky! 

I'm a teacher, working in alternative education, and am also doing a conversion MSc in Psychology, (and I have a 7 year old!), so life is very busy, but would love to be able to chat here at least! I think very deeply about all sorts of things and find that many people find deep conversations uncomfortable and prefer small talk, which I find very challenging! So would be great if anyone is keen to chat!

Hope I've done this correctly... Haha!