Diagnosed at 47, wish I didn’t know

Congratulations on your diagnosis and welcome to the community!

I can also relate to how you're feeling. Following a diagnosis, it can be common for us - especially as late-diagnosed adults - to experience a lot of emotional dysregulation. Besides perhaps feeling some relief about getting our diagnosis / an explanation for our past difficulties, this can also include working through a phase where we experience confusion, uncertainty, and/or (backward-focused) anger, frustration, grieving and more. So please don't worry - it's normal! 

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.

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:

• Talking about and disclosing your autism diagnosis
• Emotional support for family members after a diagnosis
• Formal support following an autism diagnosis
• What can I do if formal support is not offered or is not enough

I'd suggest chasing up your assessment report, as it might contain some actions for your GP to follow up on, along with some advice for you.

For example, therapy (or counselling) is often recommended after a diagnosis 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:

The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy

Nexus-7 said:

Does anyone know of support groups for late diagnosed people? I live in east London.

In addition to hopefully finding this community helpful, you might like to ask your GP for a referral to a social prescriber. Their role is to work with you, potentially over several sessions, to develop a personalised care and support plan that meets your practical, social and emotional needs.

This could include helping you to find local support groups, for example. The article below explains more:

NHS England - Social prescribing

You might be able to find some local groups via the the NAS's directory and/or through a local NAS branch:

NAS - Autism Services Directory

NAS - Branches

You might also be able to find some local groups by searching on Facebook and/or Google, including "autism" and your home area in the search phrase.

Congratulations on your diagnosis and welcome to the community!

I can also relate to how you're feeling. Following a diagnosis, it can be common for us - especially as late-diagnosed adults - to experience a lot of emotional dysregulation. Besides perhaps feeling some relief about getting our diagnosis / an explanation for our past difficulties, this can also include working through a phase where we experience confusion, uncertainty, and/or (backward-focused) anger, frustration, grieving and more. So please don't worry - it's normal! 

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.

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:

• Talking about and disclosing your autism diagnosis
• Emotional support for family members after a diagnosis
• Formal support following an autism diagnosis
• What can I do if formal support is not offered or is not enough

I'd suggest chasing up your assessment report, as it might contain some actions for your GP to follow up on, along with some advice for you.

For example, therapy (or counselling) is often recommended after a diagnosis 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:

The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy

Nexus-7 said:

Does anyone know of support groups for late diagnosed people? I live in east London.

In addition to hopefully finding this community helpful, you might like to ask your GP for a referral to a social prescriber. Their role is to work with you, potentially over several sessions, to develop a personalised care and support plan that meets your practical, social and emotional needs.

This could include helping you to find local support groups, for example. The article below explains more:

NHS England - Social prescribing

You might be able to find some local groups via the the NAS's directory and/or through a local NAS branch:

NAS - Autism Services Directory

NAS - Branches

You might also be able to find some local groups by searching on Facebook and/or Google, including "autism" and your home area in the search phrase.