Have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder later in life .

Nuttychick1977 said:

I'm also feeling very isolated & lonely so I really hope this online support chat helps

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for us to feel lonely and isolated. In addition to hopefully finding this community helpful, you might also find some of the advice in these articles helpful.

Just as an aside, I appreciate that I’m providing you with a lot of resources here, across my two replies. One of the most important things I would suggest to do in these early stages is to take your time, go at your own pace, and be kind to yourself. You could perhaps bookmark some of these links for future reference, if that would work better for you.

NAS - Loneliness - includes links to other examples of autistic people's experiences of loneliness and how they cope.

NAS - Making friends - a guide for autistic adults

Once you’ve had time to process your diagnosis and your feelings have settled down, you might like to consider asking your GP to refer you to your local social prescriber.

Their role is to develop a personalised care and support plan that meets your social needs, as well as your practical and emotional needs. This could include helping you to find local groups or socialising activities, for example. The article below explains more (it relates to England, but the same model operates throughout the UK):

NHS England - Social prescribing

You might also be able to find some socialising opportunities via the the NAS's directory, or through a local NAS branch:

NAS - Autism Services Directory

NAS - Branches

As a final suggestion, you could search on Facebook and/or Google for any local groups that might fit with your interests and hobbies.

Nuttychick1977 said:

I'm also feeling very isolated & lonely so I really hope this online support chat helps

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for us to feel lonely and isolated. In addition to hopefully finding this community helpful, you might also find some of the advice in these articles helpful.

Just as an aside, I appreciate that I’m providing you with a lot of resources here, across my two replies. One of the most important things I would suggest to do in these early stages is to take your time, go at your own pace, and be kind to yourself. You could perhaps bookmark some of these links for future reference, if that would work better for you.

NAS - Loneliness - includes links to other examples of autistic people's experiences of loneliness and how they cope.

NAS - Making friends - a guide for autistic adults

Once you’ve had time to process your diagnosis and your feelings have settled down, you might like to consider asking your GP to refer you to your local social prescriber.

Their role is to develop a personalised care and support plan that meets your social needs, as well as your practical and emotional needs. This could include helping you to find local groups or socialising activities, for example. The article below explains more (it relates to England, but the same model operates throughout the UK):

NHS England - Social prescribing

You might also be able to find some socialising opportunities via the the NAS's directory, or through a local NAS branch:

NAS - Autism Services Directory

NAS - Branches

As a final suggestion, you could search on Facebook and/or Google for any local groups that might fit with your interests and hobbies.