My autism diagnosis – how and why, and where did this lead me?
I am often asked how and why I was diagnosed autistic, what is even the point later in life. Well, I was diagnosed aged 42 after struggling for decades, and not knowing why.
In 2018, I took my eldest child Iggy, who was 14 at the time, to see a psychologist about his extreme anxiety attacks. She listened and observed, then concluded that what Iggy was describing was something more extreme – autistic meltdowns. Yes, anxiety was an issue, but her impression was the underlying cause was autism spectrum disorder.
As I had a long history of anxiety attacks, and some family history of autism, I started to wonder whether I might also be autistic.
I researched #autism online, reading from academic papers and the #LivedExperience of the #ActuallyAutistic community.
I then went to a GP appointment armed with a typed list of autistic traits and examples that I recognised in myself.
My GP referred me to a psychiatrist. He warned me that it was possible the referral may not lead to the answers I was expecting. And I later discovered he had suspected I had borderline personality disorder, a common misdiagnosis of autistic women.
Several months later, I attended a diagnostic appointment with a female psychiatrist, who fortunately knew how to recognise how autism presents in high-masking females, and I was finally diagnosed.
Identifying my autistic neurotype was extremely validating for me. My life suddenly started to make so much more sense. I was able to pinpoint the adjustments and tweaks I needed to thrive at work.
I no longer felt a failure. Let down and left to struggle in the past, perhaps, but optimistic for the future, with so much scope for making my life easier to cope with.
I started getting a kick out of making a difference to others through my #neurodiversity advocacy, both within my HR role and outside of work. I now had better self-awareness and compassion, plus a new sense of purpose!
Ausome Charlie 😎
Ausome Charlie 