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Hi I'm newly diagnosed with autism.

PassionateAsSin

Hi I'm PassionateAsSin. I’ve always been different and struggled so much with making friends which I found depressing so I spent so much time isolating myself because I thought I was just weird. But now I’ve been diagnosed with autism and suddenly everything has fit together and all my difference makes total sense. The diagnosis has given me a lot of validation and for the first time ever I feel as if I truly belong and can really see myself, like the real me and not some mask I’m hiding behind to fit in.

There’s still a lot I don’t understand and struggle with but at least now I have my diagnosis I can hopefully begin to enjoy life a little more and unwind as I continue to discover myself.

Parents

  • Congratulations on your diagnosis and welcome to the community!

    The NAS has a great set of articles focused on "after diagnosis" that you might find helpful - including one covering how you might feel during the coming days / weeks / months:

    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

    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. It discusses 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

    Immediately following my diagnosis, this book also taught me some important principles and enabled me to make some helpful changes - perhaps you might find it helpful, too:

    Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask!

  • in reply to Bunny

    Hello thank you so much! And thank you for all these helpful links I’m sure all these will come in handy. Blush My GP has referred me for a therapy, which I hope will be helpful but I'm non-verbal so I'm not really sure anyone will be able to help me as I can't really communicate very well.

    Thanks for the book suggestion. I'll have a look in my library tomorrow as I'm in town, if I'm lucky I'll find them.

    Have a lovely day! Slight smile

  • in reply to PassionateAsSin

    You're most welcome! Slight smile

    With apologies in advance if you're already familiar with this process:

    Before visiting your library, you might be able to check their catalogue online and reserve the books. Also, if your library doesn't currently have them in its catalogue, then you can ask for them to be bought and added to it.

  • in reply to Bunny
    Bunny said:
    Before visiting your library, you might be able to check their catalogue online and reserve the books. Also, if your library doesn't currently have them in its catalogue, then you can ask for them to be bought and added to

    Thank you so much! I didn't even know you could do this and I've been going to my library regularly since I was 14 lol. So many times I've wished I could ask for specific books to be bought but didn't know how to.

    This is so good to know. Thanks so much.

Reply
  • in reply to Bunny
    Bunny said:
    Before visiting your library, you might be able to check their catalogue online and reserve the books. Also, if your library doesn't currently have them in its catalogue, then you can ask for them to be bought and added to

    Thank you so much! I didn't even know you could do this and I've been going to my library regularly since I was 14 lol. So many times I've wished I could ask for specific books to be bought but didn't know how to.

    This is so good to know. Thanks so much.

Children
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