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Autism and ADHD late diagnosis

Maggiesfarm79

Hello..  I have been diagnosed with ADHD in February, then Autism this week.  When it was just one diagnosis I felt quite relieved that I finally knew what was wrong but then they told me they suspected that I was also autistic.  This has changed things and now I feel so lost!!! has anyone else sort of hit the wall once discovering they have co-occuring ADHD and ASD?  the overwhelm and complete inabillity to regulate myself.. I dont know if I need to just take a step back or plow into the research face first??  

Parents

  • Hello. The temptation is to try to learn everything as fast as possible as it will be a magic wand and it will make everything better.

    The first thing is try to be relax and not get stressed. You have time. It will take a year or more to process it all. You can read a bit a day. Obviously it will become a special interest and you will spend 40+ hours a week on it anyway, but try not to.

    Try to think about what issues you have now, and what accommodations you can do to make things a bit easier now.

    Then it is just chipping away making small changes that add up. You can try things and keep what works. Pay attention to how you feel. Gradually you will come to know yourself better.

    You will also revisit the past and think about lots of things. Expect to have mixed emotions, imposter syndrome, wonder if it was all a mistake, etc.

    Just try to be kind to yourself for a while and put some things off for a while if you can. Unless you want distractions, but you might want some time to think. Try not to be obsessed in bed, as sleep is important and when your brain is going to integrate the new info.

  • in reply to Stuart333

    Thank you so much.  I have just been in a bit of a daze the past few days and not really sleeping at all.  I think when I knew I had ADHD I thought right I can make adjustments for that.. and now I have Autism as well its like what do I do now??  I agree this is going to be a very slow process, I have been watching the same podcast episode for 3 days because I miss bits becasue I am too burnt out to take it in!!   

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  • in reply to Stuart333

    Thank you so much.  I have just been in a bit of a daze the past few days and not really sleeping at all.  I think when I knew I had ADHD I thought right I can make adjustments for that.. and now I have Autism as well its like what do I do now??  I agree this is going to be a very slow process, I have been watching the same podcast episode for 3 days because I miss bits becasue I am too burnt out to take it in!!   

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