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Newby saying Hello - 29 year old Female awaiting diagnosis (self diagnosed)

Holly771

Holly771

New Member
Hello!

I'm a 29 year old female from UK. In the last 2 years I have slowly come to the realisation that I probably have ASD. After lots of research and deep thinking I made the decision this week to book a GP appointment and hopefully start the journey to a diagnosis.

I struggled with the thought of reaching out to the community as feel like a fraud without an official diagnosis as yet. But I am feeling really unsure of myself and lost and struggling at the moment and I just wondered if there is anyone is a similar boat who has gone through this process as an adult and particularly a female adult as I know the presentations can be very different and harder to diagnose.

Anyway hope I didn't share too much but if anyone would like to chat please do send me a message :)

Thanks,

Holly
 
I've been lurking here and there in this community for a while now, without formal diagnoses. Looking around on the forum would most certainly help, as I didn't quite understand a lot of the symptoms I possess, and now I do most of the time.

Anyways, welcome to the forum:).
 
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Hello Holly.

I was just like you when I first joined here and felt a fraud too, but was immediately welcomed and reasured.

Not so long ago, this year, I got my official diagnosis of asd.

I am from the uk too, but live in France.
 
Lycoris said:
I've been lurking here and there in this community for a while now, without formal diagnoses. Looking around on the forum would most certainly help, as I didn't quite understand a lot of the symptoms I possess, and now I do most of the time.

Anyways, welcome to the forum:).
Click to expand...

Thank you, that's good to hear and glad you are finding some understanding of your symptoms :)
 
Suzanne said:
Hello Holly.

I was just like you when I first joined here and felt a fraud too, but was immediately welcomed and reasured.

Not so long ago, this year, I got my official diagnosis of asd.

I am from the uk too, but live in France.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing, it's good to hear others feeling the same way! I have my first GP appointment next week so currently in the process of writing down everything I want to say! Any advice would be really welcome. Also here if you fancy a chat about anything, any time.
 
Warm welkome to the forum. There are allot of self diagnosed in here as well and we dont judge anyone in here :p

And even with all my diagnosis medically & professional diagnosed i STILL have to check and recheck from time to time as i dought my self. What you also have to keep in mind is that this kind of diagnosis are highly individual + its differs in genders as well as the different Levels. NOONE has the exact same symptoms as the other we all chare some trates but other than that its all individual.

The best advice i can give you is try to learn as mush as you can about this ASD and especially how it shows in us females that is significantly different to how males show theirs

Asbergers is within ASD = Autistic Spectrum Diagnose diagnos

Aspienwomen: Moving towards an adult female profile of Autism/Asperger Syndrome
 
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Sarah S said:
Warm welkome to forum there are alot of self diagnosed in here as well and we dont judge anyone in here :p

And even with all my diagnosis medically diagnosed i STILL have to check and recheck from time to time as i doughted my self. What you also have to keep in mind is that this cind of diagnosis are highly individual + its differs in genders as well as the different Levels. NOONE has the exact same symptoms as the other we all chare some trates but other than that its all individual.

The best advice i can give you is try to learn as mush as you can about this ASD and especially how it shows in us females that is significantly different to how males show theirs

Asbergers is within ASD = Autistic Spectrum Diagnose diagnos

Aspienwomen: Moving towards an adult female profile of Autism/Asperger Syndrome
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your reply and you are so right :)

Thank you for the advice, I have been reading so much about autism in women and had read the article you linked to actually - it's so interesting. It was after attending a talk about autism in women a few years ago that I began to come to this realisation. My sibling (who was born male) and all my male cousins on my mums side have autism so I have always had a good understanding of the symptoms and what it means to be autistic and I shared so many characteristic and traits with these family members all my life but always did a 'better job' at keeping quiet, hiding my struggles and mimicking those around me I guess(no disrespect to my family members and their struggles). But until recently when I started to read about the different presentations for women I just thought 'well it seems a lot like I'm on the spectrum but I can't be because I'm a girl and it's a male disorder and I have empathy'
 
Hello and welcome Holly.

I'm female, live in the UK and have a diagnosis of ASD. My assessment was carried out privately. My GP did refer me for an assessment via the NHS but the wait time was too long (for me).

There are, I believe, quite a few self diagnosed people on this forum. No one appears to judge, not that I've witnessed anyway.

My advice - carry on reading/researching and make notes about your behaviour/thoughts now and behaviours you recall from childhood.

Any questions, post away!
 
Hi, and do not worry about not having a diagnosis. Quite a few of us here are self diagnosed and some not sure and exploring the possibility. For various reasons not everyone chooses to go for a diagnosis. I think the main connection is that when we look at the various lists of symptoms and other Aspies and their experiences, although we have different personalities, we see our own type. It can stand out all the more by how we do not feel that way in NT groups.
 
Hi Holly,

Welcome to the forum.

I was diagnosed long ago and first had to come to terms with ASD in relation to my daughter. It's only when I understood her diagnosis that I started considering myself. So it was a different mental journey.

The thing that was salient for me first was what you perceive as a natural state, a way of the universe or a trait of your personality, your preferences or even your values are suddenly part of 'diagnostic criteria'.

First I was angry. These are totally normal reasonable human traits, values and preferences and you label them as a 'disorder'?
And indeed, they are totally within the normal human range. So if the negativity and the medical deficit model creeps up on you and starts affecting your confidence, start reading about Neurodiversity and detoxifying your understanding of ASD.
But the second reaction was: 'Ah, that explains all this life time of angst and distress and bullying. I always knew I was different. This is me, it puts a name on what is happening to me.'

The third was really reinterpreting things that happen to me, things that I do through the new lense, to see how ASD affects me and how I could use this knowledge to be happier and more effective in life. For me autism was the key to unlock the new me. I spent a lifetime worrying, agonising over, being blamed for not doing things I didn't do and for not doing things I was supposed to do but I wasn't. I was continually blaming myself. Not anymore. The diagnosis was liberating and self affirming for me in this sense.

As others have said, I would advise reading and considering how ASD shows itself in you. It would probably help to have a list to take to the GP for all three of the diagnostic criteria, as you already started. By reading about other women' and men's experiences on forums like this you'd be amazed how quickly and how long your list of behaviours could grow based on experiences you wouldn't initially attribute to ASD.
 
Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process! :)

Plenty of people here, along with myself, are self diagnosed, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's just as valid.
 
Hi Holly, welcome.

If you haven't already, check out Autistic Self-Advocacy Network .

That's an organization based in the US, but has a lot of amazing resources than anyone can make use of. And most importantly it is run by and for autistics.

Here is one based in the UK: Autistic UK. If you have not already checked out this site, or ASAN above, I suggest you do. This one is also run by and for autistics.
 
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