Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello there...
Odd journey. I came out as trans six years ago at the age of 48 (though I'd been consciously repressing it since I was 23, and unconsciously for a long time before that). Realising I was not only trans, but also non-binary, led me to a lovely little online community where many people are on the spectrum. I made friends and it became so obvious that we had things in common that I ended up asking for an assessment referral two years ago. It was declined at first, for the usual absurd reasons that (a) it hadn't come up before now in psychiatric assessments (well, they hadn't asked me the right questions because we were too busy dealing with my CPTSD), and (b) that I was Too Empathic *rolls eyes*.
After a two year battle (the NAS agreed to assess me but my CCG refused to fund it) I managed to get seen by a friendly psychiatrist who pre-assessed me and then referred me to the team. They spend 11 hours assessing me (which is apparently a lot), and diagnosed me with an ASC (aka Asperger's until that gets fully deprecated) this August.
I'm still digesting this. The assessment process made it all way more obvious (so many patterns going right the way back). My autistic traits are much more "typically female", so of course it never got read earlier. The one thing that my diagnosis has helped with is me getting more support to try and be an OU student (concentration is difficult for me). And it may or may not help me with my ongoing battle to retain my state benefits.
Sorry, long intro. Anyway, I'm trying to be a part time student, and trying to support other non-binary people when I have the spoons to do that (I co-lead a support group).
Oh yes that's it complex PTSD tho as both begin with c I also think of combat, tho combat PTSD can also be complex, tho could be from one battlefield event , or many.