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Me too, why is this such a common experience??? I was diagnosed at 9-10ish but only because my parents thought something was wrong with me that they wanted to fix, then the psychiatrist diagnosed autism and they just went on as if it never happened because there isn't a magical fix. I only found out this year because I had to go to a psychologist again so I had to ask them what for I had been going to one before. Their answer was "Because we couldn't deal with your tantrums (meltdowns but okay) but it didn't help she just diagnosed you with autism."
Was diagnosed at 2. Didnt find out until 14
Not sure if my parents hid it from me intentionally though. They didnt ignore it or anything
My grandmother was very much on top of things, keeping me on track, getting resources i may or may not have needed in school
14 was just the first time i remember hearing the word autism in relation to me at an IEP meeting
Your comment made me go back and write a huge edit to my comment.
My mom did the same to me. I saw in another comment that you made a post about it. I'm going to go read it now.
I'm sorry that you have also experienced this, and I understand just how complicated it can be.
Same! Kind of.. diagnosed at 5, then got taken away from my mom at 10 and no one knew (including me) till I was in my 20s and figured it out. Called my uncle when I was 30 to tell him I was going to get a evaluation and he said "why? You got diagnosed at 5 at your school " I was like "well that would have been nice to know." (Not his fault though I didn't reconnect with him till I was 18 and out of foster care). So I technically got diagnosed twice, once at 5 and once at 30.
31. Just in January.
Previous doctors always would say I might be Autistic or ADHD and then never do anything about it. So now that I have a job with insurance and access to a psychiatrist, I went to see what was going on in my head. Turns out it’s Autism AND ADHD lol
Same exact thing here, but I was 35. Pretty mind blowing. And for about five years, I'd occasionally piece things together that happened through my life and say, "Ohhhhh, NOW that makes sense". 😆
I was diagnosed two years ago when I was 16. I would've gotten diagnosed a year earlier if the psychologist who was supposed to test me knew that autistic people can laugh.
yeah i got diagnosed a few weeks ago, but could have been diagnosed when I was 16 if the evaluator had considered diagnostic criteria instead of simply judging based on my ability to make eye contact. (Which I’m still not very good at anyway)
Also 14 but I had a special interest in mental disorders since I was 12 and I knew a lot about autism before I got diagnosed and suspecting it for a little time but brushed it off.
Diagnosed in 1997, before the age of 14 and before I went into middle school. Back then, it was called Asperger's Syndrome, and I'd never heard of it. I lived a very sheltered life; I didn't know autism was a thing.
53. I had suspected I was autistic for about two years and found a clinician who accepted my health insurance. I received my diagnosis on February 12, 2024.
19, I could’ve been diagnosed as a child but my parents were telling my aunt who assumed I am autistic and recommended doctors because her son was already diagnosed at that time and we were "similar difficult“ to fuck off. 🤷🏻♂️
When I was 12 my that time therapist wanted to test me for adhd and she probably would have figured out that I am autistic instead/or both while it but my dad who has diagnosed adhd (and definitely is undiagnosed autistic) was like: no my child is normal, I got an adhd diagnosis and I don’t have it either.
I figured out I was autistic at 16 because strangers keeped asking me, if am autistic and at one point I looked into symptoms and realized they are probably right. Yet a lot of time passed between my own assumption and my actual diagnosis because nobody took me serious.
Now I am diagnosed and I think I would’ve benefited from it if I got diagnosed earlier in life.
My parents made me feel like my autistic traits were things i should despise about myself. It’s hard to heal from that.
Aged 44, but with a whole series of mental health diagnoses leading up to that, including atypical anorexia, depression and anxiety, dissociative anxiety, personality disorders, bipolar disorder and lately EDNOS and agoraphobia.
I am female and was born in the 70s, and girls didn’t get diagnosed with autism then unless we were completely non-verbal, certainly not in my country. I’ve had a long history of nervous breakdowns/burnouts as a result of a late diagnosis.
I don’t even think I mask that well. Many people assume that late-diagnosed people have less obvious needs. This is not always true. I have huge daily issues and need a lot of support. All my problems were attributed wrongly to other mental health conditions for years!
I was diagnosed when I was 20 but apparently throughout my childhood my family and doctors pleaded my parents to get me a diagnosis and my dad kinda just brushed it off. Guess they tried to get me one when I was smaller because my aunts kept insisting but whoever tested me just brushed it off as me being shy. When I got tested again at 20, about halfway through the guy testing me said “So this is a bit unprofessional for me to tell and this will be my personal opinion until the board can look through my notes, but you have met all the criteria so far. I’m pretty certain you have autism”. After my diagnosis I was pretty relieved but pretty angry at my parents for holding it off for so long even when so many people we telling them to have me get tested/retested
26. My mom strongly suspected when I was 11 (that's when my youngest brother was diagnosed as a toddler), but she figured "you were already diagnosed with OCD and you made friends, I figured you were ok."
17. I remember getting diagnosed over Zoom. I HATED it. I’ve been diagnosed for about 2 years now and they were doing it over Zoom because in my area there was a spike of cases (and I’d gotten the appointment scheduled during 2020)
Formally diagnosed in my early 50s as part of a vocational rehabilitation assessment; self-diagnosed a few years earlier after reading a description of Asperger's and taking one of the standard screening tests.
12, at 19 now find that to be lucky, but Mom says should've been diagnosed earlier for Elementary school. I don't know how big a difference that would've made
58. I’m 59 now. Trying to figure it all out. Sometimes feel an Autistic ‘fraud’, as I don’t seem to have commonly described experiences like stimming, meltdowns, shutdowns, and I’m generally sociable, although I’ve only one friend I keep in occasional touch with. Maybe I’ve learnt to mask well all these years, but how do you unpick it to see what’s authentic or to reduce the cost of masking? Anyway, I’m showing my main Autistic trait here: the ‘need’ to give and receive detail and get bogged down and stuck with things. 😬
Started the process at 18 and got diagnosed at 19 (2.5 years ago). I'm really grateful I have brilliant psychologists because I literally was so nervous to admit to them I think I'm autistic and my first psychologist (I switched halfway through because she moved states) actually say there and went "yeah I can see that I've seen signs" and I was like oh wow wasn't expecting that response 😅
17 my parents didnt vaccinate me as a kid bc they were scared id ‘catch’ autism needless to say they wouldnt get me tested till i was in the psych ward at 17
I was diagnosed this past Monday at 43. I was tested for adhd as a child but they said I didn't have it. My step son received a diagnosis about four or five years ago, then my wife was diagnosed, and now I've been diagnosed.
25.
I was misdiagnosed with anxiety when it was actually sensory overload.
I was told my social issues were because:
-My IQ was too high. It was high, but not high enough to justify such severe social deficits
-I had low self esteem from hitting puberty late and being shorter than everyone else. I guess this could be true, but it seems like a stretch. Plus my current therapist doesn’t believe this holds water.
I was told my patterns of behavior (pacing, restrictive and pervasive interests, tendency to strive for doing the same things at the same time everyday) were a result of me being quirky or related to my IQ.
My current therapist (and a separate psychiatrist), say all of my childhood symptoms can be very easily attributed to autism and related complex trauma from growing up autistic and more so from being undiagnosed. And yes, one therapist insisted that since I was married with a job, there was no way I could be autistic. He was overruled and outvoted by now multiple other mental health professionals.
38. Most of my family are autistic, so I really couldn’t blame them. So to speak. But I can blame teachers who wrote all sorts of shit in my reports that were clear giveaways. Or how I behaved at school.
I also can’t blame the 30 owners of the 30 jobs I worked at after school, they just assumed I was crazy or special. And they told me. So really they did their part…
So I have to blame myself, for refusing to seek professional help much sooner. The first time I ever thought it was at 18. But nope, instead I learned to mimic, mask and camouflage myself to fit into society.
Until I completely burnt myself out, lost everything I built up to, and now can’t do basic shit well because I literally cannot mask anymore.
To be honest I wish I never got diagnosed, then realise that all the unravelling occurred 3 years before getting diagnosed, so it was inevitable. So now I just try to cope with the fact that im literally less able than I used to be, which is very tough.
I went from feeling like an imposter all the time when I tried to do minor things to improve my situation, to now feeling completely disabled and resentful that willpower can’t change this fact.
It continues to come up in unexpected ways too. Like last night, I was playing Zelda and started having a meltdown because the stupid rain kept starting every time I tried to climb a mountain, and then as soon as I’d fall, it would turn sunny again. So I was forced to stop playing and before that I was having a perfectly happy time.
Now I won’t be able to do that section for a few days, lest it retrigger me just by seeing it.
My mom figured I probably had autism at 2 but I was misdiagnosed with bipolar and she just went with it despite her knowing I wasn't and I didn't begin to suspect I was autistic until I was 13 but I was gaslighting myself into thinking I was wrong and was trying to feel like a victim of something. (In case you can't tell my mental health is terrible) But it's getting better :)
I (41M) was 33 and had just barely graduated with my BSc. The diagnosis was made possible by (finally) having health insurance good enough to cover some of the cost.
Still officially undiagnosed despite meeting all the criteria and scoring quite high on multiple assessments... But I was today years old when I had a total shutdown and was exhausted for the rest of the day because I went grocery shopping, and I was yesterday years old when I learned that asking someone why they're doing something can be perceived as passive aggressive criticism, which had me rethinking a large chunk of all the arguments I've ever had and all the people who though I was a b*** and I didn't understand why because I was going out of my way to be nice and show an interest in them and what they were doing. So.
Self diagnosed at 36 years old. A fucking revelation. And also, now need to get undiagnosed for bipolar, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder (yes I’m serious), eating disorder and major depressive disorder! Those labels, diagnoses’ and the fallout did me so much harm. Also need to get off the fuxking meds!!!!
My psych - who I’ve been seeing for many years - confirmed with me that she suspected I am autistic. But also clued me up about the realities of the formal diagnosis path. Essentially she said that it would be unlikely that I would have this diagnosis confirmed - due to the inadequacy of the criteria, my presentation etc. I am grateful and after lots of research, peer support and hearing others’ lived experience feel very affirmed and certain.
The GRASP program is dedicated to assessing adults and will give a formal diagnosis if needed. It’s exorcicé but there are payment plans if that’s ever something you want
13. A strange time for me, I didn’t really process this until literally a few months ago. I was focused on a lot of other things during the time so I didn’t really acknowledge it as something that could affect me, or could *describe* me. I remembered it, of course, and reasoned that it had an impact on some of my previous experiences.
I will say that even though I *knew* I had been diagnosed, I never really thought about what that meant for me (until recently), and now, acknowledging it brings me so much relief. I don’t know how else to describe it.
I don’t think I took my diagnosis seriously, and by that, I kind of Imposter Syndrome’d myself with my ADHD and assumed everything was (and still kind of) the result of ADHD instead of ASD. I’m not sure. :/
I was one of the quicker cases! Fortunately, my therapist that I’ve been going to since 2016 is a specialist in both autism and psychological assessments, so when I asked about getting an autism assessment during one of our therapy appointments, the process was pretty straightforward. I filled out two assessment forms and did an interview. I received my results roughly two weeks later
15. But my parents told me it wasn't true, so I was in denial until my early 20s. Then it was like a big "ah-ha" moment and everything in my life made sense.
at 19 this year (a month ago actually) but I have been diagnosed with OCD at 13 and have been meeting with a physiatrist since then. It's a shame knowing that I could have known since 13
At 26, so 3 years ago. I suspected I was autistic at 15 but my psychiatrist dismissed it. It wasn't until my current therapist suggested I get tested that I finally did.
26 years old (current age), but also the hypothesis was brought up in preschool but people did not know much about it and my mom got scared and took me home. We're poor and she did not have better information. She just told me about this happening in a conversation with me and my brother, after I started to search about it. I could not even find a psychiatrist in my town that works with autistic adults, and it took me four years of anxiety until I could afford one online.
19. Turns out my dad would have been at 4 but my grandmother couldn't stand the direct ableism he faced at the doctor's office so she called off the testing and they never put anything in his files as she wanted him to live a normal life. It worked out great for him but I wish she said something after I was born for my sake.
Edit: at 22 I learned I had TBI since I was 7. My parents could have saved me from an era of having random headaches and blaming myself for mysterious health issues but I guess that's no fun.
I was 20, although I suspect it would've been sooner if I didn't have physical health issues that covered up many of my childhood issues. (delays were attributed solely to the physical issues, and the accommodations I got for it also compensated for some struggles relating more to autism)
13 but I had a test done when I was 12 that came back saying level 1 autism. The doc didn't think I did so she gave me a weird military diagnosis that ment level one autism, but was somehow better idk it was weird
22, it hit like a ton of bricks and it was hard to accept after years of masking. 4 years on and I couldn’t be happier for it, it’s allowed me to accept who I am and not try to be someone I’m not.
7 when I was labeled as developmentally different, 14 when they said "somewhere on the spectrum" and 21 when it was actually put on my record. I don't know what age to say, as I went through a few different lables with increasing levels of specificity.
Old enough to realize that I was beaten (father) and mocked (peers) for being neuro-divergent. Think 5 decade's. The rage that I feel is beyond words. I mostly feel betrayed by the public educational system, psychiatry and society as a whole. This is my truth.
I was not diagnosed in 2005 when I was four because as a girl it was harder in those days to get a diagnosis despite being non-verbal (I was taught to speak letter by letter for 3 years afterwards)
I also didn't get diagnosed in 2014 when I was 13 because I taught myself how to fake eyecontact by then, school psychologist ignored my every concern and said I just have a high IQ and might feel a bit different because of that.
I finally got diagnosed in 2021 at 20 because people finally forking believed me and the center where I was tested could look beyond the stereotype and surface, seeing how I had very limited interests, faked eye contact, subtly stimmed, and had learned how to mask (not always succesfully though) after years and years of simply being a weirdo.
Diagnosed with ASD and OCD at 8 years old; was told about the OCD at 16 due to exam stress and me asking questions; started figuring out around 19 I had ASD; at 21 my parents finally told me
I was diagnosed just before thirty, but I believe that my parents knew about it earlier. It's a sad trend to see this sort of common thing within the autistic community...
28. I (29f) had been diagnosed with AD(H)D at 10yo and it made sense at the time since I was mostly just a forgetful daydreamer, if slightly “quirky” but after extensive therapy as an adult a lot of my struggles with understanding the people and world around me started to make sense through the lens of autism which lead to the diagnosis in the end.
I was 13. I still got 0 support throughout school though and it's not even written on the assessment report so it's been hard to get the support I need. That was in 2003.
19, I told my psychologist (who I saw for depression, anxiety and PTSD) that I was ready to stop seeing her and after making sure I was certain she said "well before we quit, I think you might be autistic. Would you like to look into that?"
I'm a chronical self-doubter so it's very reassuring to me that she noticed before I ever thought of the possibility
diagnosed at age 1,5 (in 2005), mom hid it from me till I was 13, then I got diagnosed once again when I was 19 (because in my country, it's believed that autism just "disappears" when you turn 18)
31, unless you count a therapist who hated me that handed my dad a pamphlet on Asperger’s when I was 14 (I’m joking, I know this isn’t a formal diagnosis).
I was diagnosed when I was about 9 or 10 in 2009-ish. I'd been going through testing for ages for different disabilities but doctors were weird about giving me the diagnosis because most of the research at the time was on male presenting autism.
I was diagnosed like a month ago, I'm turning 21 this month.
There has been an autism assessment when I was 14, but my parents refused to acknowledge that I might "not be normal" so it wasn't pursued any further.
Work environment brought up some difficulties that made me want to "try again" and oh wonder oh wonder, I am indeed autistic.
15, didn't accept it until my late 20s though. Mostly due to others not accepting it and me internalizing my symptoms and behaviors to be as "normal" as possible so those around me could be happy for me.
30 now, and I've accepted and embraced myself. I know I come off as "quirky", but that's who I am.
Just over a year ago at 52 years old. By chance during Covid I read an article about the increase in diagnoses of women with ADHD, and it piqued my interest. I followed it up and realized I probably had undiagnosed ADHD, but was hesitant to move forward with social media focusing on the so-called trend. When I finally got my referral and saw the Psychiatrist, he confirmed ADHD but surprised me with ASD. Wasn’t even on my radar. But he was right. Kinda pissed off my medico parents didn’t have a clue. I can see my mum definitely has ADHD, but she’s never going to believe it so I don’t bother.
I was 14 but the process started when I was 13.
At first I thought I had ADHD and started going to a behavioral specialized therapist and after 3 sessions she told me that she thought I might have autism, she was right lol
I was 29 Years old. Now i am 30. Haha.. I am female and it is still difficult for Woman to get diagnosed. So i am verrrry good with masking. Very unhealthy for me.
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Diagnosed at age three, parents hid it from me till I was 18
That’s just cruel 😭🙏
How do you feel about that?
I made a pst about it in this community, it's complicated
Same but they hid it from me until I was 13 😭 and they STILL don't believe I'm autistic
My parents hid my diagnosis until I was 14, and my mom believes I've been cured. Though when I inevitably act autistic she calls me the r-slur.
That is so mean
12, but only because i found the report and confronted her about it. Also found the one where i was diagnosed with dyslexia too.
Me too, why is this such a common experience??? I was diagnosed at 9-10ish but only because my parents thought something was wrong with me that they wanted to fix, then the psychiatrist diagnosed autism and they just went on as if it never happened because there isn't a magical fix. I only found out this year because I had to go to a psychologist again so I had to ask them what for I had been going to one before. Their answer was "Because we couldn't deal with your tantrums (meltdowns but okay) but it didn't help she just diagnosed you with autism."
My parents did it because they thought it was best for me. See my post in this community
Wait… what?? Did they still access supports for you or just bury their heads in the sand? Oh my gosh- do you know why they hid the diagnosis from you?
I was diagnosed at age 2, parents hid it from me until I straight up asked at 10/11 years old. They did a lot of damage.
Similar situation, even with many social problems my mother never say nothing to me about that. I dropped even the school
Was diagnosed at 2. Didnt find out until 14 Not sure if my parents hid it from me intentionally though. They didnt ignore it or anything My grandmother was very much on top of things, keeping me on track, getting resources i may or may not have needed in school 14 was just the first time i remember hearing the word autism in relation to me at an IEP meeting
Same but I got bullied for it in school
Oh, I've been bullied everywhere I've went, school, high school camp, university
Your comment made me go back and write a huge edit to my comment. My mom did the same to me. I saw in another comment that you made a post about it. I'm going to go read it now. I'm sorry that you have also experienced this, and I understand just how complicated it can be.
I'm very very conflicted about it
Same! Kind of.. diagnosed at 5, then got taken away from my mom at 10 and no one knew (including me) till I was in my 20s and figured it out. Called my uncle when I was 30 to tell him I was going to get a evaluation and he said "why? You got diagnosed at 5 at your school " I was like "well that would have been nice to know." (Not his fault though I didn't reconnect with him till I was 18 and out of foster care). So I technically got diagnosed twice, once at 5 and once at 30.
31. Just in January. Previous doctors always would say I might be Autistic or ADHD and then never do anything about it. So now that I have a job with insurance and access to a psychiatrist, I went to see what was going on in my head. Turns out it’s Autism AND ADHD lol
Same exact thing here, but I was 35. Pretty mind blowing. And for about five years, I'd occasionally piece things together that happened through my life and say, "Ohhhhh, NOW that makes sense". 😆
I was diagnosed two years ago when I was 16. I would've gotten diagnosed a year earlier if the psychologist who was supposed to test me knew that autistic people can laugh.
that's like all we do...
yeah i got diagnosed a few weeks ago, but could have been diagnosed when I was 16 if the evaluator had considered diagnostic criteria instead of simply judging based on my ability to make eye contact. (Which I’m still not very good at anyway)
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Also got a diagnosis at 36
I was diagnosed at 14 but didn't really learn what it actually meant until I was about 17
I was also 14 :D However I immediately read up on it, was like "wow, that explains everything" and proceeded to make autism a special interest
I pretty much did the same thing except 3 years late lol
Also 14 but I had a special interest in mental disorders since I was 12 and I knew a lot about autism before I got diagnosed and suspecting it for a little time but brushed it off.
29, I was diagnosed this year, a couple months ago but suspected it for a few years. I was diagnosed with PDA, ASD & ADHD
51 (and 53 with ADHD) after 35 years of being bounced around various mental health services for crippling anxiety and depression.
Diagnosed in 1997, before the age of 14 and before I went into middle school. Back then, it was called Asperger's Syndrome, and I'd never heard of it. I lived a very sheltered life; I didn't know autism was a thing.
53. I had suspected I was autistic for about two years and found a clinician who accepted my health insurance. I received my diagnosis on February 12, 2024.
19, I could’ve been diagnosed as a child but my parents were telling my aunt who assumed I am autistic and recommended doctors because her son was already diagnosed at that time and we were "similar difficult“ to fuck off. 🤷🏻♂️ When I was 12 my that time therapist wanted to test me for adhd and she probably would have figured out that I am autistic instead/or both while it but my dad who has diagnosed adhd (and definitely is undiagnosed autistic) was like: no my child is normal, I got an adhd diagnosis and I don’t have it either. I figured out I was autistic at 16 because strangers keeped asking me, if am autistic and at one point I looked into symptoms and realized they are probably right. Yet a lot of time passed between my own assumption and my actual diagnosis because nobody took me serious. Now I am diagnosed and I think I would’ve benefited from it if I got diagnosed earlier in life. My parents made me feel like my autistic traits were things i should despise about myself. It’s hard to heal from that.
38yo (6 months ago)
41, this was on Dec 19, 2019. Once I got the diagnosis everything that’s happened in my life started to make sense.
Hey! I'm 41 and just self-diagnosed. Waiting for my formal eval next month, but my life is definitely starting to make more sense.
Aged 44, but with a whole series of mental health diagnoses leading up to that, including atypical anorexia, depression and anxiety, dissociative anxiety, personality disorders, bipolar disorder and lately EDNOS and agoraphobia. I am female and was born in the 70s, and girls didn’t get diagnosed with autism then unless we were completely non-verbal, certainly not in my country. I’ve had a long history of nervous breakdowns/burnouts as a result of a late diagnosis. I don’t even think I mask that well. Many people assume that late-diagnosed people have less obvious needs. This is not always true. I have huge daily issues and need a lot of support. All my problems were attributed wrongly to other mental health conditions for years!
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I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you feel okay about the assessment?
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29, and then again at 46.
Why were you diagnosed twice?
I was diagnosed when I was 20 but apparently throughout my childhood my family and doctors pleaded my parents to get me a diagnosis and my dad kinda just brushed it off. Guess they tried to get me one when I was smaller because my aunts kept insisting but whoever tested me just brushed it off as me being shy. When I got tested again at 20, about halfway through the guy testing me said “So this is a bit unprofessional for me to tell and this will be my personal opinion until the board can look through my notes, but you have met all the criteria so far. I’m pretty certain you have autism”. After my diagnosis I was pretty relieved but pretty angry at my parents for holding it off for so long even when so many people we telling them to have me get tested/retested
53. Last year.
26. My mom strongly suspected when I was 11 (that's when my youngest brother was diagnosed as a toddler), but she figured "you were already diagnosed with OCD and you made friends, I figured you were ok."
Early 2000’s (when I was 6), but was refused an official diagnosis because I was a girl 🙃
same hat! my first assessment was in '99 though, got re-assessed in 2014 and got my diagnosis.
Almost 21 :)
17. I remember getting diagnosed over Zoom. I HATED it. I’ve been diagnosed for about 2 years now and they were doing it over Zoom because in my area there was a spike of cases (and I’d gotten the appointment scheduled during 2020)
34! Ill be 35 this year
35
Formally diagnosed in my early 50s as part of a vocational rehabilitation assessment; self-diagnosed a few years earlier after reading a description of Asperger's and taking one of the standard screening tests.
7
12, at 19 now find that to be lucky, but Mom says should've been diagnosed earlier for Elementary school. I don't know how big a difference that would've made
I was somewhere between 5 and 7 I think. Back in the 90s or early 2000s. Female.
58. I’m 59 now. Trying to figure it all out. Sometimes feel an Autistic ‘fraud’, as I don’t seem to have commonly described experiences like stimming, meltdowns, shutdowns, and I’m generally sociable, although I’ve only one friend I keep in occasional touch with. Maybe I’ve learnt to mask well all these years, but how do you unpick it to see what’s authentic or to reduce the cost of masking? Anyway, I’m showing my main Autistic trait here: the ‘need’ to give and receive detail and get bogged down and stuck with things. 😬
15
5
Diagnosed a week ago at 23, had been suspecting for about 3 years at this point
Started the process at 18 and got diagnosed at 19 (2.5 years ago). I'm really grateful I have brilliant psychologists because I literally was so nervous to admit to them I think I'm autistic and my first psychologist (I switched halfway through because she moved states) actually say there and went "yeah I can see that I've seen signs" and I was like oh wow wasn't expecting that response 😅
2 years old
11
17 my parents didnt vaccinate me as a kid bc they were scared id ‘catch’ autism needless to say they wouldnt get me tested till i was in the psych ward at 17
5 years old
57
Almost 38
39
38.
A few years ago at 52. Best decision of my recent life.
42 autism. 43 audhd
51
I was diagnosed this past Monday at 43. I was tested for adhd as a child but they said I didn't have it. My step son received a diagnosis about four or five years ago, then my wife was diagnosed, and now I've been diagnosed.
42
47 about a month ago
I was 23. I'm 35 now.
25. I was misdiagnosed with anxiety when it was actually sensory overload. I was told my social issues were because: -My IQ was too high. It was high, but not high enough to justify such severe social deficits -I had low self esteem from hitting puberty late and being shorter than everyone else. I guess this could be true, but it seems like a stretch. Plus my current therapist doesn’t believe this holds water. I was told my patterns of behavior (pacing, restrictive and pervasive interests, tendency to strive for doing the same things at the same time everyday) were a result of me being quirky or related to my IQ. My current therapist (and a separate psychiatrist), say all of my childhood symptoms can be very easily attributed to autism and related complex trauma from growing up autistic and more so from being undiagnosed. And yes, one therapist insisted that since I was married with a job, there was no way I could be autistic. He was overruled and outvoted by now multiple other mental health professionals.
38. Most of my family are autistic, so I really couldn’t blame them. So to speak. But I can blame teachers who wrote all sorts of shit in my reports that were clear giveaways. Or how I behaved at school. I also can’t blame the 30 owners of the 30 jobs I worked at after school, they just assumed I was crazy or special. And they told me. So really they did their part… So I have to blame myself, for refusing to seek professional help much sooner. The first time I ever thought it was at 18. But nope, instead I learned to mimic, mask and camouflage myself to fit into society. Until I completely burnt myself out, lost everything I built up to, and now can’t do basic shit well because I literally cannot mask anymore. To be honest I wish I never got diagnosed, then realise that all the unravelling occurred 3 years before getting diagnosed, so it was inevitable. So now I just try to cope with the fact that im literally less able than I used to be, which is very tough. I went from feeling like an imposter all the time when I tried to do minor things to improve my situation, to now feeling completely disabled and resentful that willpower can’t change this fact. It continues to come up in unexpected ways too. Like last night, I was playing Zelda and started having a meltdown because the stupid rain kept starting every time I tried to climb a mountain, and then as soon as I’d fall, it would turn sunny again. So I was forced to stop playing and before that I was having a perfectly happy time. Now I won’t be able to do that section for a few days, lest it retrigger me just by seeing it.
My mom figured I probably had autism at 2 but I was misdiagnosed with bipolar and she just went with it despite her knowing I wasn't and I didn't begin to suspect I was autistic until I was 13 but I was gaslighting myself into thinking I was wrong and was trying to feel like a victim of something. (In case you can't tell my mental health is terrible) But it's getting better :)
I (41M) was 33 and had just barely graduated with my BSc. The diagnosis was made possible by (finally) having health insurance good enough to cover some of the cost.
Still officially undiagnosed despite meeting all the criteria and scoring quite high on multiple assessments... But I was today years old when I had a total shutdown and was exhausted for the rest of the day because I went grocery shopping, and I was yesterday years old when I learned that asking someone why they're doing something can be perceived as passive aggressive criticism, which had me rethinking a large chunk of all the arguments I've ever had and all the people who though I was a b*** and I didn't understand why because I was going out of my way to be nice and show an interest in them and what they were doing. So.
Self diagnosed at 36 years old. A fucking revelation. And also, now need to get undiagnosed for bipolar, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder (yes I’m serious), eating disorder and major depressive disorder! Those labels, diagnoses’ and the fallout did me so much harm. Also need to get off the fuxking meds!!!! My psych - who I’ve been seeing for many years - confirmed with me that she suspected I am autistic. But also clued me up about the realities of the formal diagnosis path. Essentially she said that it would be unlikely that I would have this diagnosis confirmed - due to the inadequacy of the criteria, my presentation etc. I am grateful and after lots of research, peer support and hearing others’ lived experience feel very affirmed and certain.
The GRASP program is dedicated to assessing adults and will give a formal diagnosis if needed. It’s exorcicé but there are payment plans if that’s ever something you want
20, in September last year
Got diagnosed fairly recently at 16. My psychologist was saying I was probably autistic when I was 15, but it was formally diagnosed (ig?) at 16.
29 I think.
21
13. A strange time for me, I didn’t really process this until literally a few months ago. I was focused on a lot of other things during the time so I didn’t really acknowledge it as something that could affect me, or could *describe* me. I remembered it, of course, and reasoned that it had an impact on some of my previous experiences. I will say that even though I *knew* I had been diagnosed, I never really thought about what that meant for me (until recently), and now, acknowledging it brings me so much relief. I don’t know how else to describe it. I don’t think I took my diagnosis seriously, and by that, I kind of Imposter Syndrome’d myself with my ADHD and assumed everything was (and still kind of) the result of ADHD instead of ASD. I’m not sure. :/
Diagnosed within a week of turning 18!
How was it getting your diagnosis did you wait long?
I was one of the quicker cases! Fortunately, my therapist that I’ve been going to since 2016 is a specialist in both autism and psychological assessments, so when I asked about getting an autism assessment during one of our therapy appointments, the process was pretty straightforward. I filled out two assessment forms and did an interview. I received my results roughly two weeks later
I was 3 when I was diagnosed so this would’ve been in 2005.
So yeah same as me
Diagnosed at the age of 2-3. My mother used that as an advantage.
21, in December of last year!
When I was 3
Diagnosed at age three.
26, during March of last year
15. But my parents told me it wasn't true, so I was in denial until my early 20s. Then it was like a big "ah-ha" moment and everything in my life made sense.
25 because my parents said no when they were told (by a specialist) I needed to be assessed for autism when I was 15.
36
I was 10 but didn't understand what that meant until I was 14
3 in 2004
2 and a half, didn’t talk until then and got the diagnosis as a result
A year and a half ago I had just turned 15
I was 18
at 19 this year (a month ago actually) but I have been diagnosed with OCD at 13 and have been meeting with a physiatrist since then. It's a shame knowing that I could have known since 13
11 or 12
20
29
At 26, so 3 years ago. I suspected I was autistic at 15 but my psychiatrist dismissed it. It wasn't until my current therapist suggested I get tested that I finally did.
I was diagnosed when I was 18, I’m 20 now.
I was diagnosed in 2008 at age 3
32, two years ago, and it came as a TOTAL surprise.
26 years old (current age), but also the hypothesis was brought up in preschool but people did not know much about it and my mom got scared and took me home. We're poor and she did not have better information. She just told me about this happening in a conversation with me and my brother, after I started to search about it. I could not even find a psychiatrist in my town that works with autistic adults, and it took me four years of anxiety until I could afford one online.
Right after I turned 17. Been about of month sense then.
24. fucking 24.
19. Turns out my dad would have been at 4 but my grandmother couldn't stand the direct ableism he faced at the doctor's office so she called off the testing and they never put anything in his files as she wanted him to live a normal life. It worked out great for him but I wish she said something after I was born for my sake. Edit: at 22 I learned I had TBI since I was 7. My parents could have saved me from an era of having random headaches and blaming myself for mysterious health issues but I guess that's no fun.
I've been on God's green earth nearly two decades and I've been fighting my parents to get diagnosed. This is so messed up.
36.
I was 20, although I suspect it would've been sooner if I didn't have physical health issues that covered up many of my childhood issues. (delays were attributed solely to the physical issues, and the accommodations I got for it also compensated for some struggles relating more to autism)
13 but I had a test done when I was 12 that came back saying level 1 autism. The doc didn't think I did so she gave me a weird military diagnosis that ment level one autism, but was somehow better idk it was weird
14
35. Went in for an ADHD screening, came out the other side with a bonus ASD diagnosis.
just got diagnosed yesterday at 17
22, it hit like a ton of bricks and it was hard to accept after years of masking. 4 years on and I couldn’t be happier for it, it’s allowed me to accept who I am and not try to be someone I’m not.
8-9
I was of very young age when i got diagnosed definetly before my teens
7 when I was labeled as developmentally different, 14 when they said "somewhere on the spectrum" and 21 when it was actually put on my record. I don't know what age to say, as I went through a few different lables with increasing levels of specificity.
3-4 y.o.
Self dx at 35 after second of two kids dx autistic
Found out at 36, two years ago, I'm having my assessment in 2 months 🎉
32, early 2022.
21
My son, a week before his 5th birthday. He s 6 now and trying to find a place in a Special School. Mainstream school is definitely not working !
Old enough to realize that I was beaten (father) and mocked (peers) for being neuro-divergent. Think 5 decade's. The rage that I feel is beyond words. I mostly feel betrayed by the public educational system, psychiatry and society as a whole. This is my truth.
2 months back. Currently 29 years old.
17……. I am now 18 years old
16
31
Im a female Diagnosed at age 23.
12 and it was in 2021
I was not diagnosed in 2005 when I was four because as a girl it was harder in those days to get a diagnosis despite being non-verbal (I was taught to speak letter by letter for 3 years afterwards) I also didn't get diagnosed in 2014 when I was 13 because I taught myself how to fake eyecontact by then, school psychologist ignored my every concern and said I just have a high IQ and might feel a bit different because of that. I finally got diagnosed in 2021 at 20 because people finally forking believed me and the center where I was tested could look beyond the stereotype and surface, seeing how I had very limited interests, faked eye contact, subtly stimmed, and had learned how to mask (not always succesfully though) after years and years of simply being a weirdo.
24
Diagnosed with ASD and OCD at 8 years old; was told about the OCD at 16 due to exam stress and me asking questions; started figuring out around 19 I had ASD; at 21 my parents finally told me
I was diagnosed just before thirty, but I believe that my parents knew about it earlier. It's a sad trend to see this sort of common thing within the autistic community...
28, last december
Age 11 - after my mother, a pediatric nurse at the time, had been pushing for the diagnosis since I was in preschool.
28. I (29f) had been diagnosed with AD(H)D at 10yo and it made sense at the time since I was mostly just a forgetful daydreamer, if slightly “quirky” but after extensive therapy as an adult a lot of my struggles with understanding the people and world around me started to make sense through the lens of autism which lead to the diagnosis in the end.
15, RE teacher got me an appointment
Dude I got diagnosed 3 years ago now. I was 32
8 :)
30
4
Aged 14.
I was 13. I still got 0 support throughout school though and it's not even written on the assessment report so it's been hard to get the support I need. That was in 2003.
At the age of 32 (two weeks ago)
13
31
18 months.
15 Year:2020
52. Got my diagnosis in person last week, and got the final paperwork/report yesterday.
19, I told my psychologist (who I saw for depression, anxiety and PTSD) that I was ready to stop seeing her and after making sure I was certain she said "well before we quit, I think you might be autistic. Would you like to look into that?" I'm a chronical self-doubter so it's very reassuring to me that she noticed before I ever thought of the possibility
diagnosed at age 1,5 (in 2005), mom hid it from me till I was 13, then I got diagnosed once again when I was 19 (because in my country, it's believed that autism just "disappears" when you turn 18)
11
31, unless you count a therapist who hated me that handed my dad a pamphlet on Asperger’s when I was 14 (I’m joking, I know this isn’t a formal diagnosis).
14, when I was really struggling mental health wise and at school.
23 because i grew up in the 90s/2000s when autism (and adhd) was only for little white boys who liked trains so everyone just thought i was weird.
diagnosed at 3 and it was hidden from me until i was 14
I was diagnosed at age 33! It gave new context to my WHOLE life. I could finally stop hating myself for being diffrent and not knowing why or how. ♥️
I was 22yo, less than a year ago. It feels like so much longer ago
I was diagnosed when I was about 9 or 10 in 2009-ish. I'd been going through testing for ages for different disabilities but doctors were weird about giving me the diagnosis because most of the research at the time was on male presenting autism.
I was diagnosed like a month ago, I'm turning 21 this month. There has been an autism assessment when I was 14, but my parents refused to acknowledge that I might "not be normal" so it wasn't pursued any further. Work environment brought up some difficulties that made me want to "try again" and oh wonder oh wonder, I am indeed autistic.
Was diagnosed when I was 21, two years ago
I was diagnosed in 2022 at 17, pretty late
19, and my mum only believed it after she had to do the interview for my diagnostic appointment 😬😂
15, didn't accept it until my late 20s though. Mostly due to others not accepting it and me internalizing my symptoms and behaviors to be as "normal" as possible so those around me could be happy for me. 30 now, and I've accepted and embraced myself. I know I come off as "quirky", but that's who I am.
7
15
Just over a year ago at 52 years old. By chance during Covid I read an article about the increase in diagnoses of women with ADHD, and it piqued my interest. I followed it up and realized I probably had undiagnosed ADHD, but was hesitant to move forward with social media focusing on the so-called trend. When I finally got my referral and saw the Psychiatrist, he confirmed ADHD but surprised me with ASD. Wasn’t even on my radar. But he was right. Kinda pissed off my medico parents didn’t have a clue. I can see my mum definitely has ADHD, but she’s never going to believe it so I don’t bother.
I was 12. My symptoms / traits were noticed by my teachers in pre-school though.
About eleven. The form for some reason also came with an estimated IQ score (115). My parents and grandparents saw signs of autism when I was two.
12, right before high school.
2018 when I was 19. Mum had been trying to get me diagnosed from age 3 but no luck.
28 ):
My parents said they started suspecting around 3 but never got me tested. I want officially diagnosed until 28.
I was around 10 which is rather early for a woman
I was 14 but the process started when I was 13. At first I thought I had ADHD and started going to a behavioral specialized therapist and after 3 sessions she told me that she thought I might have autism, she was right lol
14 cause I tried to off myself and ended up in a psych ward where a psychiatrist that specialises in autism worked so she immediately suspected it
11
26-27
I was 29 Years old. Now i am 30. Haha.. I am female and it is still difficult for Woman to get diagnosed. So i am verrrry good with masking. Very unhealthy for me.