Published on 12, July, 2020
just wanted to say Hi as I registered myself here today. Not sure how to start here, but I guess I'll find a lot to read here and possible some advice for me as an adult on the spectrum.
Hi Lacrima
Welcome to the forum. I am also new here, and have only recently been diagnosed ASD at 49.
Hi Diddy :) Thank you very much.I'm 39 and in the waiting process for an assessment, which is really not helpful, as I struggle with handling the uncertainty. It was "thrown" at me that I might be autistic at the end of last year. I was referred to the specialist in January and I'm still waiting.
welcome to this community. I am currently in a similar situation to you. I am 42 and trying to brave booking an appointment with my GP to request an assessment. It has thrown me also that I might be autistic but there seems very little support out there. I have read lots of academic papers and slightly worried that even with a diagnosis there is very little support out there.
From reading some of these threads it would seem that there are a good number of community members in the same boat - lost, confused, seeking support and doing our best to try and support each other.
does anyone know of any good helplines or websites that are useful? Is the diagnosis worth it if there is very limited support afterwards (or so it would seem)....
Thoughts welcome and hi again
Hello ElephantInTheRoom, thank you very much for your welcome :) I absolutely agree with you. It seems very little support out there, especially for adults on the spectrum and even less for women. Not to mention that it also depend of the area you live. You can find a lot of support-pages and support - groups on Facebook as well as on Twitter and generally online, but most of them seem to be for parents who have autistic children. I haven't spoken with my GP about that at all. I try to avoid doctors as much as as can. My referral was issued by my Primary Mental Health Practitioner after everything she recommended kind of failed. But: She was spotted things during our talks, which are totally normal for me and I always thought it is normal, but they obviously aren't "normal". Eventually I got the AQ50 and EQ and her thoughts of Autism. I never thought of that before. I was completely unaware which diagnoses are associated with the spectrum. Since January I've read a few books and blogs regarding ASD. I follow a blog, written by a late diagnosed woman in her 30s. She explains her life, her thoughts and a lot of it makes sense to me. It is like she knows the words I'm struggling to find to explain to myself what's going on in my head. Sometimes we write messages and she's very friendly and helpful as well. I don't know, if it is allowed to post links here, so I rather hold back to post this link for now. Books which remained in my memory are "Autism and Asperger Sydrom in Adults" by Luke Beardon, a very informative one. You'll find a lot of information about him online.A Novel I really enjoyed reading, even if it is meant for more younger people (I guess), was Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" You and others mention the book "Odd Girl Out" I will have a look for that too. A movie which I find worth watching ( if you are a movie person) is "Temple Grandin" from 2010. It is a biopic about Temple Grandin, who is an autism spokesperson. Unfortunately I can't recommend helplines, as I would never use them. I'm avoiding phone calls as much as I can. I hope this all makes sense. English isn't my native language and sometimes I struggle finding the right way to explain myself (not that it would be easier in my mother language)
I hope your weekend is a good one so far. Thank you again for your welcome :)