Looking For Advice
Hi. I'm hoping I can get a little advice from people with autism.
I strongly suspect that I have autism, but I haven't been diagnosed or tested yet.
A little explanation. This might be a bit involved, but I'll try to keep it concise.
I've struggled with mental health issues for most of my life (anxiety, depression, etc.), and I've never quite been fully functional. I easily get overwhelmed and can't seem to handle too much. In college, I tried to force myself to adapt, and put myself into a sink or swim situation, but I ended up having a mental breakdown that took me two years to recover from.
During that time I learned about Highly Sensitive People (HSP/SPS), and I thought, “Oh, that's what I am!” However, in recent years, I've suspected that I have some degree of autism, but I thought that it probably wasn't too significant. Recently, though, I've been considering that perhaps I'm more affected by it than I've realized. The more I learn about it, the more things fall into place.
I've mentioned wanting to get tested to my care provider and two therapists, but nothing ever came of it. (Plus, I don't think there are any places near where I live that test adults for autism.) At this point, though, I'm not sure how important an official diagnosis is since I'm convinced I'm on the spectrum. I'm more concerned with what I can do about it. I know autism is not something you “cure,” but I need to be able to cope and function for the rest of my life.
Basically, I'm wondering what steps I can take. I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but I'm worried about getting the “wrong” kind of support. (That is, that autism is something that needs to be “corrected.” Even professionals can be misinformed.) So, I'm hoping that others with autism can help steer me in the right direction.
Thanks for any advice.
@HouseCat38
Hello and wellcome. In case you still want to be diagnossed, you can do it online with many proffesionals. You can also find some of the tests online, those tests are not a diagnose but may give you some extra orientation. As an example, here you can find the Adult Aspergers Assesment: https://www.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/adult-asperger-assessment-aaa/
If you suspect that you are on the "level 1" part of the autists spectrum, you can find many resources with the "Asperger" key world.
About the "What can I do now that I know I am autistic?" part of your post, that is something very personal. I will let you a link to a very complete YouTube channel that gives great orientation and tips:
https://youtube.com/c/AspergersfromtheInside
There are also very good books in electronic format so you can buy and read them from your cellphone. You put "best autism books" in Google and you will get many recomendations. Some of them explain things, other are more like guides, some others are biographys...
I personally like very much Temple Grandin's books and I am also loving "Neurotribes".
You can also search in social nets, there are many good proffesionals, parents and autists there. I follow spanish ones, not so sure about english.
And you can also attend online autists meetings and events.
I hope some of this options may be usefull for you.
Hugs. 😊
@Meandros Thanks for your reply. I didn't realize I could be diagnosed online.
I have tried various online tests. The results vary from "a little" to "a lot," but they all indicate I have some level of autism.
I discovered that YouTube channel that you mentioned. It's been very informative, as have other similar channels.
I actually have a brother with autism, so it's not entirely unfamiliar to me. I was always considered the "more normal" one, but I think I'm affected by it more than I or anyone else realized.
@HouseCat38
While we cannot give any advice or diagnose you since we aren't professional experts on it, if you want a diagnosis it would be best to reach out to your doctor about it as they may be able to guide you towards resources to get that done. In terms of learning to cope, a therapist/counselor may be able to help you identify what will work best for you. We all cope in different ways so I can't say there is one best way. I personally learned through trial and error what worked for me and what didn't. I hope you are able to find some comfort to manage it all!
