Introduction

Congratulations on your diagnoses and welcome to the community!

There are plenty of older, late-diagnosed and late-realised people here, so you're in good company! 

My own diagnosis turned out to be the start of a new journey of learning and adapting. I'd suggest taking extra care to be patient to, and kind with, yourself - and to take your time with processing everything.

The NAS has a great set of articles focused on "after diagnosis", including one covering how you might feel over time, and others covering support. You might find them helpful as a starting point:

NAS - How will I feel after receiving an autism diagnosis - includes perspectives from other autistic people

NAS - Other advice covering post-diagnosis - including these and more:

• Talking about and disclosing your autism diagnosis
• Formal support following an autism diagnosis
• What can I do if formal support is not offered or is not enough

Therapy or counselling are often recommended after a diagnosis, as a follow up action for your GP to arrange. If you prefer, depending on where you are in the UK, you might instead be able to self refer for talking therapy. 

Before arranging anything 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

I'll also just mention a couple of books that I and others have found helpful early on in our post-diagnosis journeys:

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

How to Be Autistic (free download currently available via this page)

Burnout

I suggest seeking support with this from your GP, if you're not already receiving it. Alongside that, you might find the advice and suggested strategies in these NAS resources helpful:

NAS - Autistic fatigue and burnout

NAS Professional Practice - Understanding autistic burnout

NAS - Seeking help with mental health

There's also some great (free) advice here from Dr Megan Neff - a neurodivergent author, clinician and advocate:

Autistic Burnout Recovery: How to Build a Recovery Plan

I also have this book of hers. It's very user-friendly, including lots of diagrams and worksheets:

The Autistic Burnout Workbook: Your Guide to Your Personal Recovery Plan

That's a lot of resources, I know - but I hope that some of the information here is helpful.

Thanks for all the information. 

It should keep me busy for a while!

You're most welcome! 

Longfella said:

The clinician that gave me my diagnosis suggested I look at NAS for information etc

The NAS does do a fantastic job (I think, at least) of providing written resources across all kinds of topics, usually including onward links for further reading.

You're most welcome! 

Longfella said:

The clinician that gave me my diagnosis suggested I look at NAS for information etc

The NAS does do a fantastic job (I think, at least) of providing written resources across all kinds of topics, usually including onward links for further reading.