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Hello! My ASD Diagnosis Journey

baileyblonde

Hi, my name is Sarah, I am 44 and I am at the very start of my ASD diagnosis journey.

I visited my Dr earlier this week as I believe I have ASD and wanted further advice. I made the appointment a month ago and spent the whole time feeling extremely nervous about seeing my Dr as I didn't know what to expect and was worried I wouldn't be taken seriously.

I needn't have worried though as she was very understanding and sympathetic. I explained that after watching 'Unmasking My Autism' by Christine McGuinness and doing further research into ASD I could very much relate to a lot of the traits. This has both been reassuring (I feel validated in my lifelong feelings, experiences and behaviours etc) but also frightening (how will I cope as I get older etc).

After completing the AQ-10 Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) screening questionnaire and scoring 10, my Dr has referred me to The Owl Centre for a formal ASD diagnosis. I'm now on the waiting list (average wait is around 7 months) and hopefully should receive correspondence from them soon.

  • Hi I am also on the waiting list, I was told 5-9 months wait, but that was back in September. I have decided to self identify as autistic as it really fits with my experience and I score high enough on all the questionnaires. The thing to do is all the reading, follow autistic content creators on social media, some of them are really good. 

  • Hiya :-)

    Feeling validated makes sense - as does the fears.  Some of this comes from the "deficit based" diagnostic criteria maybe which all gets linked up with a sense of there being "something wrong" and frankly that being autistic in a neurotypical word can be hard?

    Hmmm... does it get easier post diagnosis? well...

    Every person diagnosed (including self-diagnosed) has their own individual reaction and responses says the research.  It is also said that there is are characteristic journeys that might be overlaid on the experience.

    As the song goes "accentuate the positive" may be worthwhile advice :-)

    Takes a while to make sense of life from a different perspective and maybe through a different lens.  And then to make choices from that appreciation.

    Hehe, I think I remember Brian Cox saying that time travel is possible - just that it only goes in one direction!

    All the best for the future!

  • Good morning from America, baileyblonde!

    That’s very exciting that you are starting such a powerful journey of self-introspection! Having mixed emotions such as relief and regret are very common with getting a late diagnosis. For me, I mostly felt relief after getting mine. I hope you can find the answers you are looking for!

    In the meantime (since 7 months is a long time to wait), it is totally acceptable to be self-diagnosed. If you believe you have Autism, then you belong here in this community.

  • Hello,

    If you'd like to do more questionaires there are plenty to choose from. It may help you to be confident and also refine what you know about yourself.

    The AQ-50 is the longer version of the AQ-10, I think the 10 questions are a subset.

    Easiest single source is embrace-autism.com site, if you have not already found it.

    If you are interested in masking, I posted a thread on it.

    Good luck on you journey. It may be a bit emotional. It also takes time to adjust after you find out. It was not what I thought it would be. It depends on your previous life and how much you need to reframe. You will also do the imposter thing.

    The single biggest thing, which sounds like nothing but is actually everything, is be kind to yourself and ease off on the pressure to make things just, right, you're allowed to make mistakes and say no. :)

    You can start now, no need to wait to be nicer or have a rest.