Recently met the criteria for the diagnosis of ASD

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My diagnosis report came through two weeks ago. I was assessed by a Senior Clinical Psychologist whose experience, among others includes assessment for adults who wish to determine if they have ASD.
One of four recommendations for me was that I might link up with other autistic adults, so here I am.

Before my diagnosis, I knew nothing about ASD, Aspergers, ADHD and I still don't. However in tandem with my diagnosis report I am reading 'An Adult with an Autism Diagnosis' by Gillan Drew. It is very educational, and accessible for one who is brand new to the subject.

My biggest concern at the moment is trying to get my head around exactly where I am on the ASD "scale", if such a thing exists. My psychologist did not specify a number or a category. My clinical presentation was not markedly suggestive of autism however my description of persistent difficulties in social settings does suggest traits of autism.

I am equally concerned about telling other adults about the diagnosis (I've told my wife and children). There is a very interesting chapter in the book about the benefits and disadvantages of disclosure. If I do decide to disclose to others I want to be prepared with much more knowledge of my specific place within the syndrome than I currently have.

If you are interested, I can list the tests that were used during my assessment, but I won't clog up this post with that info at the moment.

My school years (14 in total) were horrific and I experienced very significant difficulties there. Those years dictated the rest of my life in a very negative way. However, for the past number of years I have been extremely content, due in no small part to my ability to mask/act very well, when I learned over many years to practice, and perform certain behaviours and suppress others in order to be more like the people around me. It works, and I was happy that it worked.

I was thrilled to receive the diagnosis, even at this late stage in my life. A lot of things that I wondered about, now make sense to me, and my plan is to understand the syndrome more, and work on the recommendations that I now have and am grateful for.

Welcome to WP! I hope you find this a nice place to visit.

You will find a number of us who had quite a few birthdays before we found out we were on the Autism Spectrum...I got my diagnosis very shortly before my 65^th birthday. My impression is that those of us who got the diagnosis later in life are pleased with it; it doesn't warn us of future problems but rather explains the problems we already got past.

And Autism was a surprise to me, too. Before age 64 I knew almost nothing about Autism. I was vaguely aware of Rain Man but had never seen it and I would've rejected any suggestion that I was Autistic. But SURPRISE! I got my diagnosis and I really did get champagne to celebrate.

As far as friends and family go...I figure they already thought I was odd. No action was required from them regarding my diagnosis.

However, whenever my bride bumps up against one of my Autistic traits she gets to hear me say:

^{I have a doctor's note for that!} _{I enjoy saying it more than she enjoys hearing it.}

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

there is no scale, just things we are good at and not so good at, be the best YOU you can be, don't compare yourself to any body else, better or worse, stronger weaker, etc is self destructive.

Find things you love and follow them.

Glad you are with us!

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

Welcome to Wrong Planet !

I was diagnosed last year at age 62 years and like you I spent most of my life "acting" to fit in. Everything I have learned about "masking" suggests that you are denying who you are so I stopped doing it. It's been an interesting and liberating journey.