Diagnosed as an adult

Hi Shaun

there are a lot of recently diagnosed autistic adults who are now public neurodiversity advocates:
Charlotte Valeur
Kirsty Forbes
Emma Dalmayne

Article about autistic influencers on Instagram. 

If you struggle with finding dedicated support groups/forums (unfortunately, nothing comes to my mind now) maybe it's worth reaching out to them or just following them on social media.

Hope that helps.

I didn’t even know I was autistic at first. I just thought people might dislike me for other reasons like I wanted to be on my own and that I didn’t like small talk or celebrity gossip from the media but now I realise that I am just different internally and this cannot be changed. Like you I see people around believing autism is an extreme condition with physical movement outside of our mind and this is not helped by movies such as Rainman and the impression that kids in special schools are the only people with autism. Every time I talk to somebody outside the autistic groups about autism it’s a more extreme physical condition than mine (mine is mostly to do do with no desire to be around people, noises, headspace) physically I am fully functioning. People like to believe that if you are ok on the outside then you are ok on the inside because they cannot believe what they cannot see. 

Dear God!  That's awful. Bit of support would be nice, huh?

aye my parents just see me as a lazy unsociable scrounger. they think that people with autism have to be like people with downs syndrome and have to be rubbing their poo all over the walls... which yes they said that, thats what they think autism is....

Ah my neck of the woods, guess that means I'll nothing either. No surprise there, then

There are groups for adult auties - although it's a post-code lottery and the support may not be of any use to you - depending on where you find yourself on the 'functionality' spectrum.   There's also a lot of GPs and NHS staff who think autism is a childhood problem and you magically grow out of it at 18.  

If you're high-functioning, there's very little support - you're just supposed to sort it out yourself.

Joining in the forum is a good way of finding information.

Hello Shaun,

I have just been diagnosed as well and I'm 39. 

Hi Shaun,

welcome to this forum. I too as diagnosed as an adult. Where i live there is no support at  all.

Support in most parts of the UK is for children who are Autistic. Adults are never thought about. I fought for over a decade and in my sixties I had a diagnosis. In Birmingham and Coventry there was no support but apparently there is now I've moved to Telford. So I am looking forward to seeing what that's like. Just never give up, keep asking, keep up the pressure. Just because you are an adult doesn't mean that you don't need some support. I'm lucky, I know some people I can talk about being Autistic with, but some family members refuse to see me as autistic as I don't sit on the floor rocking, and can speak. My life has changed since I know who am, I am not crazy, I am not incompetent, I am me, and part of being me is being wired differently to 'normal' people. I don't feel any compulsion to fit in any more, people can accept me as me or not, that's their choice.

Hi Caelus,

Schools (that I know) now a days, have good recognition and support for childeren, I work in catering in schools and have seen first hand (in the location im in) the support that childeren receive. There are one to one support facilities if required.

It is my understanding that teachers are much more aware now than years ago. I can only base this on the sites I have been involved with.

it seems lack of diagnosis until later on is rather common then.
i feel most services are incompetent to not notice, but i guess alot of them dont really care, such as schools, schools could notice if they cared, but they dont care. perhaps schools need to be cut down and made smaller so that teachers can know each student and so be able to spot these things at a early stage.

Hi Shaun,

Welcome..

I was diagnosed in  March 2021 Im 55..

I totally understand what you are experiencing! I have contacted some sites like here, NAS, also a local community trust site where I live. I have also contacted sites in my local area regarding speaking with people in a similar situation to me.

EVERYONE I contacted has been very helpful and even had one to one zoom meetings with me to explain how the community works etc. I had lots of questions about my feelings about my diagnosis etc.. They all were very helpful and understanding.

I must say EVERYONE on here that has replied to my posts have been invaluable in the information they have given me. I am truely thankful to them all.

If there is anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to ask

Hi Shaun, nice to meet you.

Have a chat to your GP. Sometimes they can refer to outside services. Mine referred to MIND Adult Autism, who run some courses for people pre and post assessment. You might even be able to self-refer.

Hi NAS73486,

Thank you for sharing this and welcome to the community. You may find the following page on post-diagnosis support from our website useful:

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/post-diagnosis-support

I hope this helps,

Chloe Mod

Hi Shaun

Yep - lots of on here are diagnosed as adults or are going through the process.       I'm such a nerd that I didn't know I was different to everyone else until my mid 40s!

Post all your questions - there's lots of good people here who will try to help.