Hi, hoping to speak to people who are on the same wavelength as me, something that seems quite difficult in real life

Welcome! I’m a 90s kid as well.

You’ve probably heard this before, but being self-diagnosed is totally acceptable around here. Especially since it can be so difficult to get a diagnosis.

Let me know if you have any questions or such. I’m open to talk!

Thanks, and nice to meet another 90s kid!

I was a little nervous as to whether the fact I haven't ever been officially diagnosed might have been frowned upon a little, so I'm glad to hear this, I know it isn't easy to get a diagnosis and its quite a prolonged process.

Thats great, I'm sure I will speak to you again here!

If you know, you know. You've probably done your research and related to other Autistic people's stories, and thought, "OMG! That's me!" I mean, who would know better?

There is some stat I read somewhere that over 90% of people who self-diagnose who go on to have a formal diagnosis have their self-diagnosis confirmed. There are reasons to get a formal diagnosis, but there are also reasons not to. It's down to you.

Thank you, will check that out

SJH1994 said:

Out of interest does getting a formal diagnosis bring any kind of benefits to not getting one?

You might find information here helpful:

NAS - Deciding whether to seek an autism assessment

NAS - Formal support following an autism diagnosis

I thought this may be the case regarding state support etc, in some ways this could help as my current circumstances would benefit from some kind of support, I will look into this, thanks

I guess it feels very different at first when you have it on paper for the time, I imagine the feeling in my case would probably be-"That's it, I'm Officially Autistic" lol

If you are in employment and looking for reasonable adjustments to be made to accommodate your disability (or their disabling environment), they could insist on proof of your disability. In that case, you'd need a formal diagnosis (I think, IANAL).

You might also qualify for disability payments, supports or services from the state if you are formally diagnosed.

Many people also like the certainty of it, though lots of people with a formal diagnosis still feel like impostors, at least for a while until it sinks in. (It took me 22 years for it to sink in; I'm a bit slow on the uptake!)

Exactly this! In pretty much all cases I am classically autistic, and often when reading other peoples experiences, I can relate entirely, as I can see myself.

Out of interest does getting a formal diagnosis bring any kind of benefits to not getting one? I generally decided not to bother as I just thought of it as being told something I already know

Exactly this! In pretty much all cases I am classically autistic, and often when reading other peoples experiences, I can relate entirely, as I can see myself.

Out of interest does getting a formal diagnosis bring any kind of benefits to not getting one? I generally decided not to bother as I just thought of it as being told something I already know

Thank you, will check that out

SJH1994 said:

Out of interest does getting a formal diagnosis bring any kind of benefits to not getting one?

You might find information here helpful:

NAS - Deciding whether to seek an autism assessment

NAS - Formal support following an autism diagnosis

I thought this may be the case regarding state support etc, in some ways this could help as my current circumstances would benefit from some kind of support, I will look into this, thanks

I guess it feels very different at first when you have it on paper for the time, I imagine the feeling in my case would probably be-"That's it, I'm Officially Autistic" lol

If you are in employment and looking for reasonable adjustments to be made to accommodate your disability (or their disabling environment), they could insist on proof of your disability. In that case, you'd need a formal diagnosis (I think, IANAL).

You might also qualify for disability payments, supports or services from the state if you are formally diagnosed.

Many people also like the certainty of it, though lots of people with a formal diagnosis still feel like impostors, at least for a while until it sinks in. (It took me 22 years for it to sink in; I'm a bit slow on the uptake!)