Seeking Advice for Possible Autism Diagnosis

Maybe check out Embrace Autism? I can’t speak from personal experience because I’m undiagnosed, but at the very least they have free self-evaluation tests. Those won’t diagnose you but they were helpful for me. I’ve also heard good things about the Dr. who runs it, but like I said, I haven’t used their services myself

Hello hun, I'm so glad you reached out. I am 29 and female I'm October and received my diagnosis 5 months ago. Getting diagnosed has changed and saved my life. I'm proud of you for reaching out. The diagnosis process will play out differently depending on where you live. I was fortunate because I was clueless about autism and my therapist detected it and I scheduled testing from there. If you are in therapy, this is the best place to start. Having the support of a therapist will help because some psychiatrists are unfortunately still biases about the old autism stereotypes. Many females get misdiagnosed with personality disorders instead. If you aren't in therapy right now, here are my suggestions: 1.) Type up a document about why you want to be evaluated. The document should include a description of how you meet each of the diagnostic criteria for autism, specify when and why it looks differently in you as a female. The document should also include a description of every symptom, behavior, struggle, and experience that you experience in relation to the autism, both now and as a child/teen. If you have friends or family who can vouch for some of these, include them as a source. It's a lot of work but the more they can see into your experience and how it specifically reflects autism the less biases they will be for you. Mine was 20ish pages. 2.) Do your research. You don't want to go to just any psychiatrist. You need to find a qualified psychiatrist or neuropsychiatrist who has both education and experience in diagnosing adults. Make sure you look at patient reviews online too, they will tell you who is reliable. When you find one, ask for an appointment with the psychiatrist who specializes in adult autism for an initial evaluation. Try not to to hard at your initial evaluation appointment. Present your concerns, explain how it's affecting you, communicate why you feel the evaluation is necessary. DON'T insist you have autism. Instead, explain thoroughly the differences and difficulties of your lived experiences. Doctors hate self diagnosis. 3.) If the provider hears you out (most do), you will be scheduled for a few hours of testing. It's best not to research or know much about the testing. The point of it is to see you in action, not see you prescripted. It will give the most accurate results. The test look at social abilities, areas of intelligence, language skills, etc. They evaluate a lot and you will learn a lot. It's is quite draining, so be prepared for that. After your evaluations you will have a follow up where you will discuss your diagnosis or diagnoses and the steps to take to manage them going forward. If you disagree with your diagnosis, you will need to restart with a new psychiatrist and repeat the process. Please note that the process for me took only 4 months, but it takes some people up to a year or even longer. Every area is different and so is every person. I promise you that if you ARE autistic, the waiting and phone calls are worth it. Also, I live in PA. the process could be different elsewhere, I do not know. This is my best advice. :)