How and when did you get diagnosed?

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And did it make you feel better?

i don't know and i don't remember.



i was 4.

I was 3. I doubt I cared much at the time.

When I was 31. It made sense when nothing else did, and yes, it made me feel better. Probably saved my marriage, too.

36

I was 3. I didn't know I was diagnosed with autism until adulthood. It made sense, though. Because I WAS classically autistic then.

The discovery of "Asperger's Syndrome" circa the late 80s gave me lots of "Eureka moments."

I was ten. It was strange to me I didn't get diagnosed earlier, because of my daily meltdowns and being nearly always in shutdown. I was in pain all the time, I never made eye contact, and also had motor delays, and everyone agreed I was a strange kid. I mean I masked but not that well or anything.

I got diagnosed after my mom came across Aspergers in her business psychology class when she went back to collage. She was like, "This sounds exactly like my daughter." and sent me for a private evaluation where I was diagnosed with several things including aspergers.

I thought it was funny, you know, "Aspergers - Ass burgers".

And quickly it became a relief, though it didn't help that the first witch I tried to tell when I was quite happy about it said and I quote, "I'm so sorry" and tried to give me a hug. Which made me scared to tell my friends.

After decades of being useless at "adulting" and endless referrals for mental health problems and calling out crisis teams, it finally occurred to someone to properly look into what was causing these problems and was lucky enough to be seen by a psychologist who knew what she was looking at. They made further referrals, and eventually I was diagnosed at 44 years old by a specialist neuro-developmental unit of the NHS (UK state healthcare).

My feelings about it have ranged from utter dejection and grieving (accepting that it is lifelong) to rapturous joy at finally discovering other people like me that I can comfortably talk to about it and learn from. I still have many dark moments, especially frustration at the difficulty of accessing support services. But overall, I feel that my emotional state has been slowly improving ever since diagnosis, and I am getting better at finding compromises with the world around me that are gradually improving my relationships with other people.

I was diagnosed when I was 3. My mom was referred to a specialist who diagnosed me with Autism after I entered preschool and avoided playing with other students. I guess that was the first sign. I didn't know about my diagnosis of what Autism was until I was a preteen. I was upset at first because all I really wanted was to be like my peers and I didn't want yet another thing to make me stand out instead of fitting in. However, it did help me eventually understand myself better and I realized why I do some of the things I do and why I struggle with the things that are hard for me.

This year! But they suspected I had something in school from at least grade 5. I wish I would've gotten the diagnose before I graduated from school entirely though because teachers never knew how to deal with me and I only ever had 1 teacher who tried REALLY hard to get me to feel comfortable socializing with other students for example but without judging me negatively like other teachers I had did who said I had to be more like the other kids because then they'd stop bullying me. Basically said it was my fault... But this year I eventually managed to get diagnosed and the result weren't a surprise at all lol, we'd all guessed it for years, and I haven't really started getting much help yet but it feels really good to have it confirmed and to have all this help avialable and feel confident that there's never been anything "wrong" with me, i'm just different.

Very good question and would happily answer though I will warn you a bit lengthy.

I was diagnosed at 10 years simply because the school was concerned about me and my behaviour. Through primary they did suspect something and I did show a lot of what they call ‘red flag’ signs and also my concentration was all over the place as well. The school I was at had a new headteacher who just before was a deputy head of a Primary school that had an Autistic Provision and the first of it’s kind in the area (I am not from Chatham I am from Jersey Channel Islands). So first one on the island and they were starting a Provision in a secondary school. I was diagnosed at 10 years old at school. I remember someone coming to the school who wanted to see me. She asked me questions and spoke to me. She then mentioned the secondary school with the Provision in and asked if I would like to go there I did say no and protested but eventually changed my mind. She then met with my parents and asked questions about my behaviour they decided from that the result.

Even though I was diagnosed at 10 years old or just before I turned 11 and although I was in a unit for Autistic Children I wasn’t told until I was 12 when I started asking questions.

When I was 14 years old I moved to Chatham and the local council wanted me rediagnosed after a 10 minute consultation with a psychologist she decided I wasn’t Autistic after all. For 3 years I was angry and confused also started to notice how I had trouble fitting in and joining in and not understood seen as that doctor said I wasn’t Autistic and took her word for it.

I was made by my mum to go to the doctor to get diagnosed again it took a year and I saw a psychologist who was an expert who diagnosed me and asked me questions some logical questions as well. After that meeting I was not convinced that I was Autistic still thought the original was a mistake and 2 weeks later the psychologist called me back with the results I am very much level 1 Autism. He also pointed out why I was mid-diagnosed that time.

I did go through a depression after the last diagnosis and still for years lived in denial but now I have learnt and now accept it.