well, maybe I'll pursue a formal dx after all

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Mainly because I've already had to ask for accommodations at work. And I've gotten them even without a formal autism dx, but I got to thinking, what if I need more help in the future? And what if I don't always have this same job or this same management who actually listens to me?
And there may eventually come a time where I can't work and may need disability. I'd def need as much documentation as possible then.

Anyways..... I did see the site embraceautism offers an evaluation for around $500, and you can advance to the diagnostic process for like $1,000 I think..... Maybe that's where my tax return should go, next year?

I'm considering that site cuz it's run by a Dr with autism, and so I'd get someone who knows what to look for in adults. Versus if I were to look at people locally, I might not find someone who is equipped to diagnose adults or understand how autism manifests in adults.

Thoughts?

I know Natalie personally but she didn't do my dx. Make sure her credentials are recognised where you live so it's not a waste of money and it can be used for what you need.

imo I think it's worth being diagnosed because I believe in knowing as much about myself as possible.

Formal accommodations seems like a good reason for a formal diagnosis.

And, I agree, verify the assessor's credentials are appropriate and formally recognized.

The price you're mentioning is consistent with the cost of my assessment...though I got a reduced price because the assessor realized giving me an IQ test wasn't needed. If they throw an IQ test into your assessment then the price sounds like a bargain to me, but I think it is still plausible (my opinion should not be given much weight, though...I am not an expert on this issue).

Enjoy the assessment! Usually these assessments are done on children and when I was assessed it was apparent that parts of the process were designed for children, but I saw no reason to think the result would've been invalidated by my age (though my assessor seemed slightly embarrassed about those parts of the process). I thought it was kind of fun!

Enjoy the diagnosis! I'm biased, I'm inclined to favor a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder but, really, the important thing is to get a correct diagnosis...and the self-understanding you gain from it.

Dr. Natalie Engelbrecht is a doctor of naturopathic medicine. While many consider this to be a valid scientific field, and it does require years of study, many US states and Canadian provinces do not recognize them as licensed doctors. It's up to you of course, but this would give me pause.

This. ^

She's not even recognised in Ontario where she practises.

Be sure if you are going to apply for government support that the state where you put in your applications recognizes the professional you use. Some states allow diagnosis only from certain professionals (psychologist, psychiatrist for example ) Others allow and recognize other diagnoses. Usually diagnosis alone is not enough documentation if you are going for disability, often you need Dr statement about the specific ways you struggle/ have disability, etc.
Rules may be different for different states or countries. If you plan to apply for benefits or accommodations from work or school, the same applies. Check out what is needed and accepted wherever you are before you select a professional and seek official/medical diagnosis.

Just looked up that site. It's based out of Canada, not the U.S.A. Since you indicate you live in the US, for "official" use of a diagnosis do you think you might be better off going to a psychologist licensed in the state you live in? Your state government likely has a web page listing licensed psychologists.

Unfortunately https://www.findapsychologist.org/ appears to require the user to specify some location info, but you could try it, as well.

So I saw my nurse practitioner today to renew my mental health refills. Business as usual.

I did ask her where I would go for an autism diagnosis, we had previously talked about the autism thing. She said it'd be in the big city to the north that I'd find someone for that, but did warn me that it's expensive. I said I know, I'll probably use my tax return next year for it.

Anyways.
I happened to visit my childhood friend's house tonight. Her mom of course is very familiar with me, so I told her how my therapist thinks I could be autistic and asked for her thoughts since she knew me as as child. I mentioned how I definitely meet "criteria B" but was less sure about the social deficit criteria and she pretty much immediately said that I definitely have social deficits.

I guess this is for real.

For the record for anyone reading this thread, she's a Registered Psychotherapist as well as a Naturopathic doctor.
She's an expert on PTSD for autistic people, and she herself is autistic.
When I said she's not licensed here, I didn't mean she does ASD assessments using her ND credentials.
I meant that Psychotherapists can't diagnose ASD in the province where she works.
Ours need to be conducted by Clinical Psychologists or Neuropsychologists with a PhD.
Otherwise, she's not a "doctor" and can't "diagnose" Autism.

That doesn't mean her assessments are worthless.
They can be used for self-awareness, or be stamped and approved by a medical doctor afterward.
Once they're stamped by an MD they can be considered valid.
I only cautioned the OP to know what's needed in the state where she lives.

Am looking at https://www.drrabia.com/ currently

I can't open the link but I googled and it looks great!
It's good that you found her!
It's probably a long waitlist so maybe see if you can get your name on it now.
They won't want full payment until you get your report, anyway.

Update on this:

I actually was able to get in fairly quickly, so instead of waiting I took out a loan to pay for the assessment. Intake appointment went well, and the Dr says she sees enough flags for autism that we went ahead and scheduled a testing appointment.

She seems to know what she's doing. I filled out a little sheet before the appointment, and she asked me extra questions and asked for more details on various stuff from the sheet I filled out. I'm of course not officially diagnosed yet, but that she thinks it's a good enough possibility to go ahead for testing is nice affirmation of what I already strongly suspect.

Testing is in 3 weeks.