Realizing I Might Have Autism: Seeking Advice

I wasn't diagnosed until high school. Looking back it's very clear I should have been diagnosed earlier

I had been diagnosed with autism in 2005, ADHD in 2013, and two other diagnoses for bipolar and anxiety disorders. It's been a bumpy ride with autism for me because when I was little, I had major meltdowns like all the time. Some got pretty serious. I even have meltdowns sometimes now, but not as often, and I'm 20 years old. They can get very serious. And thanks to the stupid school district and special education folks in elementary and middle school, I had absolutely no help in school and my meltdowns. I switched schools my freshman year of high school because it's like, "You know what? Screw you. You said you would help us, and you did a polar opposite, so screw you." I don't want to have to type too long of a paragraph, but I could go on and on about how miserable my childhood was. My parents said they tried to get me help, and the school I went to elementary school in said they would help me with anything, and they did a polar opposite of what they said. They had some pretty horrible things to get me to calm down when I was having a meltdown. In second grade, I had a lot of meltdowns and when I got violent in my meltdowns in school, they took one of these (supposed to be soft) mats and pressed me up against a wall with one of those to stop me from getting at them and getting violent with them. Like I said, I could go on and on. But long story short, I went to a different district for high school, my parents told THEM I needed help, and they actually DID follow it! In fact, they went further than that! The superintendent that was there had a thought to himself as being a superintendent that was, "Put the kids first, before the education. The education is important, but the kids come first." Smartest move my parents and I had ever made in my lifetime! I then graduated from school there with some friends I will never forget ever! (The other district had fake friends that won't even spit in my direction anymore, and I won't do it to them either.)

Yes I have suspected I had autism since I was a child but it never went diagnosed. It wasn't until I watched some YouTube videos that I started to put 2 + 2 together and get 4 which means it started to make sense to me. One day I hope for a diagnosis. I just have been putting it off for too long.

Yep. I’m definitely autistic, and I got diagnosed with ADHD at 14. I’m getting an autism screening but not a full diagnosis because I want to foster kids someday though.

Diagnosed with ADHD about 2 years ago, and now I'm pretty sure I'm autistic as well. I'm scared of the stigma the diagnosis carries, though I'd love a professional opinion, so I probably won't be getting an eval for a while. But I'm pretty sure I know who I am, and I align with the autistic perspective way too well to just be an allistic person with ADHD.

I don't have a formal diagnosis yet but realized in the last couple months that I have autism. I had an assessment for adhd at 15 but they said I didn't have it. So either I don't have it or they were just really bad at their job. I think they were looking more for me getting distracted easily not my hyperfocusing on the tasks given to me.

Diagnosed in 2014 - I was 24

I was just diagnosed in December for Autism and this year for ADHD. They usually go hand in hand.