Hello everyone I'm new, looking forward to using the forum with everyone. I'm also new to the ASD spectrum after my diagnosis on the 17/4/25
Hello everyone I'm new, looking forward to using the forum with everyone. I'm also new to the ASD spectrum after my diagnosis on the 17/4/25
Hi Kenny - congratulations on your diagnosis and welcome to the community!
The NAS has a great set of articles focused on "after diagnosis", including one covering how you might feel during the subsequent days / weeks / months. You might find them of interest and/or helpful:
NAS - How you might feel after a diagnosis
NAS - Other advice covering post-diagnosis including:
In terms of what to do next, my advice at this point (ie soon after your diagnosis) would be to try and give yourself some time and breathing space to process and absorb everything that you've been through, and let your feelings settle down.
For me, as for many others here, my diagnosis turned out to be much more of the start of a new journey, rather than a conclusion full of instant solutions for my various ASD-related difficulties.
Therapy (or counselling) is often recommended after a diagnosis, as a follow up action for your GP to arrange. In anticipation of that, you might find it helpful to borrow or buy this book, which includes discussion of various types of therapy and counselling, together with advice on choosing the right therapist or counsellor - all from an autistic person's viewpoint. Several of us here have found it very helpful, including me: