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Advice

Ava

Hi I’m autistic but undiagnosed. I need someone who understands as I was bullied and grew up in a bad area and I have watched others to the point that I don’t show any autism at all because I was bullied and learned to copy but I didn’t know I was copying but I didn’t want bullied so I would repeat what others said and behave like others to avoid bullying and it’s become my behaviour but unfortunately it means that people don’t understand I’m autistic and I didn’t know I was either but I am. 
IM 100% autistic but there’s nothing I can do as I went for an assessment and didn’t get diagnosed. I get burnout and analysed everything to get things right but ambiguous communication and idioms and social cues and norms etc have caused significant damage as I’ve misunderstood people and they have misunderstood me. I catastrophise etc.

living nightmare 

anyone understand?

Parents

  • Hi Ava, I think most here will recognise what you have said. Many of us autistic people have been forced to mask our true selves for so long that we find it very difficult to work out who we really are. Even medical professionals it seems, are unable to understand that much of what they might see in us that seems neurotypical is learned behaviour. Having to behave in that unnatural way constantly is exhausting and does lead to burn out. You know yourself better than anyone else. If what you hear and read about autism fits your own lived experience then it's perfectly valid for you to self diagnose.

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  • Hi Ava, I think most here will recognise what you have said. Many of us autistic people have been forced to mask our true selves for so long that we find it very difficult to work out who we really are. Even medical professionals it seems, are unable to understand that much of what they might see in us that seems neurotypical is learned behaviour. Having to behave in that unnatural way constantly is exhausting and does lead to burn out. You know yourself better than anyone else. If what you hear and read about autism fits your own lived experience then it's perfectly valid for you to self diagnose.

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