Advantages of a formal diagnosis

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I don't have a formal diagnosis, but have been assured by people who work in the system that I would have no problem receiving one if I pursued it. The thing is, I don't know if there would be any advantage to having the diagnosis. I'm 43 years old, and pretty high functioning, although I've definitely had problems due to my Aspie traits. Currently I'm a housewife, working to get a degree and go back to work after almost a decade at home, so we'll see how well I truly function then, right? As of now the only social interaction I really have to have is with the cashier at the grocery store, and sometimes I mess that up.

Anyway, are there advantages to receiving a formal diagnosis? Are there disadvantages? One person, with whom I am acquainted because she has worked to get services for my daughter who has a congenital brain anomaly (agenesis of the corpus callosum) suggested that I might not want to carry an autism diagnosis because people don't understand it.

i never bothered to get a diagnosis. i figured out i had AS when iwas reading about my diagnosed nephew's symptoms.

The advantages and disadvantages of a diagnosis depend on your situation. From your post I can tell you have all of the following:

Internet access
A husband (you are a houseWIFE)
A home (can't be a housewife without one of those!)
A motivation to better yourself (reenter workforce after completing a degree)
Income to support a stay-at-home lifestyle (husband must work or you're on disability for something else)
Self-diagnosed so could be on the spectrum as Broad Autistic Phenotype

If this is indeed the case-- there is no real advantage to a formal diagnosis other than personal confirmation. In the future should your traits interfere with your functioning a diagnosis would expedite services. I've chosen to go the latter route because I've had significant difficulty with sustaining employment and also with succeeding (as in PASSING lol) college.

Good luck to you, whichever you decide you will only know it for yourself. There are some disadvantages of being diagnosed as an adult-- though none that I can personally attest to.

I'm 43 as well. I got my diagnosis this past September. Knowing for sure was a personal thing for me, I sort of just wanted to officially know that I was not nuts. There really seems to be no point to a formal diagnosis that I can see.....yet anyway.

I too would really like to be told I wasn't nuts. I'm definitely disordered and would like someone to diagnose what exactly my disorder is. The problem is that the GP, then neurologist, then therapist didn't know anything about these things and had to be taught by me about them first. The neurologist said "How would I know if you have that or something else?", the therapist "If you think you have it you do". So I'm back where I started.

Apparently there are certain services that your university may offer you (if you have formal diagnosis), which would make your success at university more likely. Keeping you focused and on track - if you have problems with that, is part of it

I was told this too. But as a student at the Open University, (OU) this may not apply as such.

I'm a student with the OU, having a diagnosis can still help. A lot of the OU stuff is already really AS friendly but some of it isn't. For example, I get extra time in my exams because of my diagnosis. If you're in the UK it also means you can apply for disabled students allowance to help with any additional costs.