This week, I have been diagnosed with Autism. My mind is all over the place at the moment, one minute okay and the next very emotional. I was always the quiet, shy one in the family who loved being alone playing with dolls and then later on, playing darts in the garage on my own. I have been bullied at school and in every job , one of which being in a school. I have been advised that I do have ADHD traits when I received my ASD diagnosis even though I'm still awaiting the assessment for ADHD.
Due to being threatened by HR and the headmaster in the school where I work, which entailed them trying to say that I was not capable of carrying out my job after being off with PTSD due to abuse at work by a parent! They were not at all understanding about PTSD and would not recognise that if this parent had been dealt with before when being abusive, this situation wouldn't have happened. I was the fourth member of staff to be verbally abused. Now I have ASD and potentially could have ADHD too, I am worried about telling them about the diagnosis and asking for reasonable adjustments.
I am also worried about how my adult son will react as he only knows one person with severe autism but we present differently and I mask a lot. He has already commented in the past that ADHD is an excuse made for naughty boys, so I have no idea how to help him understand ASD and ADHD, even though I think he could also have ASD. Luckily, my daughter, who thinks she may have ADHD, is understanding and has researched the conditions so, although she found it weird to congratulate me for my diagnosis, she freely did because she hoped it would help me now to come to terms with why I am the way that I am.
How has any other late diagnosed people dealt with this and what has helped?
