Late Autism Diagnosis: Experiences with Assessment Process?

Good luck. I got diagnosed at 34 (I'm 36 now) and it helped me quite a bit to get the diagnosis, mostly because I don't feel as "broken" as I used to. I had to do a phone interview first and then I went in to see a specialist who gave me many question forms, skills assessments, and some audio/video tests. They also spoke with my husband about my daily habits and generally observed me. The best advice I can give is to be as open and honest as you can. Being a late diagnosed autistic I have spent most of my life trying to pretend to be normal to the point where it can be very hard to be myself around strangers. Just remember they are there to help and feel. free to message me if you ever need anything.

I hope everything goes ok for you

thank you, and if you have any questions, please send me a msg and I will try and help out 😊😊 There's a few online tools you can use to self-diagnose (not sure if you have yet) so maybe if you do fit the criteria of ASD, could help reduce the anxiety... I can't see your profile or any other disorders, few things to add: Not sure if you are F or M, however, if you're a female, ASD is a lot harder to diagnose You may or may not also have ADHD on top of ASD. The ADHD can actually mask the ASD! (I have a strong feeling that you really get what I mean with the masking) There's a lot of videos on YouTube about the combination of ASD & ADHD... This will also hopefully help you more, and reduce some anxiety before the appointment 🙂

I'm 36, and in the process of being diagnosed. I had so much anxiety before the appointment, but the way I tried to see it was that as anxious as I feel about this, in the long run, it is going to help me. Do you know what to expect from the appointment? That could possibly help reduce some anxiety

I was diagnosed at 33 and specifically looked for a specialist in adult diagnoses and afab diagnoses because I didn't want a primary care to dismiss me like they dismissed all my other illnesses. That said, it wasn't that bad for me. It was during covid, so all or it was done from home, and it was like 90% multiple choice testing. They didn't talk to my family as I'm not in contact with them, but they made it pretty chill to answer questions. It seemed like any other intake therapy appt except for the tests, so I'd you're comfortable with therapy, you should do fine.

I just had to fill out questions about myself. I was 42 when I was diagnosed. Changed my life completely but for the better!

I got diagnosed at 25, and the people doing my interview were absolutely lovely. They were completely understanding and just asked questions. Mine did take a better part of a day, and it was a bit nerve wracking when they were doing an interview with my mother. But in the end, I can't complain and I'm happy to understand myself a bit better