Any point in being diagnosed as an adult?

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Not everyone has a good job, good relationship, etc. Information about their strengths and weaknesses can help.

^^^^
This, exactly


Most people with mild diabetes or cancer have not had it there whole lives and not known about it. If you get diagnosed as an adult(that is what this thread is about) except for maybe some of the youngest adults you are not likely seeking a diagnosis to be trendy on 4Chan and you have a pretty good idea about the bad parts.

+1 **** ^^^^^ (Lily Gabrielle)

I’m still on the fence.

As discussed on a different thread, I may lose my medical certification at work, if officially diagnosed. So, if I choose to get diagnosed, I would need it to be unofficial. In addition, since I am employed and actually eligible to retire, I wouldn’t get any tangible benefits from a diagnosis.

Based on a previous disclosure (I did share my suspicions with someone at an elementary school reunion, which seems to have been shared, and now someone at that reunion who lives nearby, who was very interested to meet up, now has zero interest in meeting with me), even if I got an official d/x, I wouldn’t tell anyone, other than those I already shared with (my wife and my sister).

The only tangible benefit might be a lesser degree of skepticism if I chose to share my d/x with someone. However, I now don’t see the point. I think most NT’s have a skewed perception of what autism is and sharing your diagnosis/suspicions may not turn out well.

Based on info I’ve garnered here, unless you live in a country where you might get/need tangible benefits (Work or school accommodations or some sort of public assistance), it seems pointless to get a d/x.

There are also some here who discounts everyone who self diagnosed, as though we are posers. Satisfying them is certainly no reason to seek a d/x.

That said, I still want one. Otherwise I may always doubt my self diagnosis, even though it clearly explains my life to this point.

I can really relate. I'm 26 and keep going back and forth on whether I should seek a diagnosis. I am "functional" for right now, but I am worrying about my future and I feel like there is something going on with me that will prevent me from being able to truly be an independent adult, have a good job, etc. I've been just living at home, going to school, and working part-time at a restaurant. I've been perfectly functional just doing that. Since I majored in education, I actually just did my student teaching this past spring and graduated earlier this month. And even though I did well academically in all of my classes throughout college, student teaching was so overwhelming and I barely passed. My supervisor came close to pulling me from the program. This was exactly what I was afraid was going to happen, even though I did go into it trying to think positive and feeling somewhat optimistic that everything would start coming naturally (teaching, interacting with the principal and other teachers, managing a classroom of 20 kids) once I got in there and got more practice. It didn't, sadly. I WISH I just naturally had the skills that so many other teachers seem to have. And I do feel like I went into teaching for the wrong reasons (it was just something I kind of settled for because I didn't know what else to do, and I was only really thinking about the kids...how they're a bit easier to deal with, make eye contact with, and relate to, but not all the interactions I'd have to have with other people). I just have no idea what I should do with my life, and again, I do feel like there's something holding me back. I just feel like I'm really socially immature and awkward and it makes people not take me seriously. I have really intense interests like many ASD people describe, but none of them seem to be useful in finding a job/career. And another reason I was so unhappy during student teaching was because it was so time-consuming (with all the planning/preparing you have to do outside of school) that I really didn't have time to pursue my interests, or slip into my daydream/imaginary worlds that I've created in my head. Even as an adult, those are things I still feel like I HAVE to do.

I did actually talk to a psychologist who specializes in ASD (and also knows how to diagnose adults, and seems to understand the differences in females vs males) back in December before I started my student teaching. At that point I just didn't know how I was going to get through it and I just wanted some kind of help. We just had a consultation appointment. She didn't rule out ASD based on our conversation, but I didn't end up scheduling an ASD evaluation, because first off, there was about a two-month waiting list, and I felt I just needed some kind of help before I started student teaching. So she set me up to start seeing the therapist at her practice, which I believe did help. The therapist has been great and that may be the reason I stayed strong enough to not completely flunk student teaching. Also, to get an ASD evaluation, the psychologist has a questionnaire that she would want one of my parents to fill out about what my childhood was like, and that's another thing really holding me back. Like you, I also have parents who would never believe there's anything "wrong" with me and would completely scoff at the idea of me being autistic. Any time I have mentioned anything about being socially awkward or not having good social skills, my mom just says things like, "You've always been fine with people", "you're just too hard on yourself," etc. Sometimes I wonder if she's right and I worry that I am overthinking things. And yeah, the cost is something else I'm kind of worried about. The psychologist said that a lot of insurance plans do cover at least some of the evaluation, but I'm not completely sure if mine would.

Sorry I don't have good advice for you. But you're definitely not alone!