Newly diagnosed and seeking advice

I was diagnosed at the age of 50 and it came as a huge relief, finally I was able to stop balming myself for my "weirdness" and mentally give back a lot of the criticism I'd had throughout my life to the people who it belonged too. I wasn't given any help or support just left to get on with it, even 12 years ago women with ASD was still unusual, it was thought that seeing as I'd got to 50 fairly unscathed I was OK. I am OK, but I'm not, there are some areas where I still really struggle, I have terrible foot in mouth syndrome and often try and use my other foot to try to remove the first one. I still fear saying the wrong thing. Some resourses may be available locally to you, you'll have to check out whats nearby. 

I think the most important piece of advice I could offer, is to use this diagnosis as a starting point, dont' let it define you, let it empower you to be the person you want and need to be. So what if other's want you to be a certain way and do certain things in a certain way, they're not you and this goes for anybody regardless of any diagnosis. Society expects certain things from all of us and I think most people struggle some of the time. Allow yourself room to grow, I'm still growing and I'm old enough to be your mum, life's journey will be easier if you don't hem yourself in by whats expected of you as a person, a woman, or a person with ASD. Another thing I'd say is get used to the idea that the only constant in life is change, many of us fear change, but change dosen't have to be bad and even when it's something we'd rather not happen, we all still have power with it, we can shape how the change effects us,

I was diagnosed at the age of 50 and it came as a huge relief, finally I was able to stop balming myself for my "weirdness" and mentally give back a lot of the criticism I'd had throughout my life to the people who it belonged too. I wasn't given any help or support just left to get on with it, even 12 years ago women with ASD was still unusual, it was thought that seeing as I'd got to 50 fairly unscathed I was OK. I am OK, but I'm not, there are some areas where I still really struggle, I have terrible foot in mouth syndrome and often try and use my other foot to try to remove the first one. I still fear saying the wrong thing. Some resourses may be available locally to you, you'll have to check out whats nearby. 

I think the most important piece of advice I could offer, is to use this diagnosis as a starting point, dont' let it define you, let it empower you to be the person you want and need to be. So what if other's want you to be a certain way and do certain things in a certain way, they're not you and this goes for anybody regardless of any diagnosis. Society expects certain things from all of us and I think most people struggle some of the time. Allow yourself room to grow, I'm still growing and I'm old enough to be your mum, life's journey will be easier if you don't hem yourself in by whats expected of you as a person, a woman, or a person with ASD. Another thing I'd say is get used to the idea that the only constant in life is change, many of us fear change, but change dosen't have to be bad and even when it's something we'd rather not happen, we all still have power with it, we can shape how the change effects us,