Hello I am new here

I have just been reading Women and Girls on the autistic spectrum ( Hendrickx) and now looking after you autistic self (Garvey) after having a suspicion for several years that I might be autistic . It seems like the chapters in the Hendrickx book about childhood/ teenage years and adulthood have written about me. It’s like a tickbox exercise, there’s so many things in there that are what I have done and still do. The second book I have got to chapter three and I have found stories of indecision in supermarkets and and being overwhelmed by restaurant menus ( that’s me) . It’s like a big lightbulb moment on my whole life, I’m in my 60s . I don’t want to talk myself into being autistic, but there are so many things in these books that are just me it can’t be all coincidental 

Parents
  • Hi and welcome to the community!

    Many of us here are "late realised" and/or "late diagnosed", so you're in good company! :)

    If you haven't yet seen them, you might also like to read through the various resources in the NAS's recently revamped diagnosis hub:

    NAS - diagnosis hub

    They cover all stages of the process, with each section containing several articles relating to that stage:

    • Before diagnosis
    • Assessment and diagnosis 
    • After diagnosis 

    For example, these articles (from "Before diagnosis") would perhaps make for a particularly timely read:

    NAS - Signs that a child or adult may be autistic

    NAS - How to request an autism assessment

    For those who live in England, it also includes information about requesting an assessment via Right to Choose (which enables access to private providers who might have shorter waiting lists than the NHS, but with your referral and assessment still fully funded by the NHS).

    Examples of Right to Choose providers are listed here, for example:

    ADHD and ASD assessment – Right To Choose

    The NAS articles include links to some screening questionnaires that you might like to complete, to get a better idea of whether your suspicions are correct. You might prefer to use the website below for this, rather than the versions linked in the NAS article.

    This site provides some very useful commentary for each questionnaire, and also enables them to be completed online (with scores calculated for you), saved as PDFs and - if the results support your suspicions and you decide to seek a formal diagnosis - printed off to take with you to the GP.

    The AQ-10 or AQ-50 seem to be the most frequently used / required by GPs in support of NHS referrals. RAADS-R might also be helpful:

    Embrace Autism - screening tests

Reply
  • Hi and welcome to the community!

    Many of us here are "late realised" and/or "late diagnosed", so you're in good company! :)

    If you haven't yet seen them, you might also like to read through the various resources in the NAS's recently revamped diagnosis hub:

    NAS - diagnosis hub

    They cover all stages of the process, with each section containing several articles relating to that stage:

    • Before diagnosis
    • Assessment and diagnosis 
    • After diagnosis 

    For example, these articles (from "Before diagnosis") would perhaps make for a particularly timely read:

    NAS - Signs that a child or adult may be autistic

    NAS - How to request an autism assessment

    For those who live in England, it also includes information about requesting an assessment via Right to Choose (which enables access to private providers who might have shorter waiting lists than the NHS, but with your referral and assessment still fully funded by the NHS).

    Examples of Right to Choose providers are listed here, for example:

    ADHD and ASD assessment – Right To Choose

    The NAS articles include links to some screening questionnaires that you might like to complete, to get a better idea of whether your suspicions are correct. You might prefer to use the website below for this, rather than the versions linked in the NAS article.

    This site provides some very useful commentary for each questionnaire, and also enables them to be completed online (with scores calculated for you), saved as PDFs and - if the results support your suspicions and you decide to seek a formal diagnosis - printed off to take with you to the GP.

    The AQ-10 or AQ-50 seem to be the most frequently used / required by GPs in support of NHS referrals. RAADS-R might also be helpful:

    Embrace Autism - screening tests

Children