Newly diagnosed at 32 years old!

DebJ1990

Hi

Trying to find a community or support. I have always known I have ASD as my family history is full of autistic people and knew deep down that I probably had the same but out of fear didn't want the assessment. Only when covid hit and everything went online did I feel ready to take that step.  I now have my diagnosis as of Thursday but not really sure what support is out there as I have never looked for it before now. I was also found to have ADHD which was a bit of a shock as I wasn't expecting that part.  I do have a couple of friends online but other than that I'm pretty isolated and don't have any real friendships which suited me fine. Not really sure what I'm looking for here but thought I'd start and take the next steps etc. I do have a local organisation but don't fancy group sessions etc. As I hate face to face sessions and will avoid like the plague lol! 

Sandy_123

Hi @DebJ1990 welcome to the forum. There no face to face interactions here, so you may get to like it here,  there are lots of topics on the forum, that you may want to join in with, lots of us here to talk to. Lots of people have autism on the forum too. 
Its good to get a diagnosis then you can move faward with how to cope. 

SueHeath

Morning @DebJ1990 welcome to our great group,
I think you have struck gold here with joining the Scope Community. It's the best thing I have ever done.
When your ready have a look around the site, there's lots going on chats/threads/debates/games/ the chance to make friends as well.

I'm sure you will be greeted by some of the other members when they wake up ha ha.
Look forward to seeing you around.

Karen7788

Hello @DebJ1990, welcome.

DebJ1990

Thanks you all for the welcome and kind comments. I'm not sure how to work the site as of yet  but will have a go and see what I can find whilst I have some time free. The psychiatrist mentioned a few sites too but this is the one I found had the best reviews. 😀 

SueHeath

You won't find any better @DebJ1990 ha ha 
Just have a play about with the site, that's how I navigated around it, I still find things now that I never knew was there ha ha - any problems just ask as some one is bound to be on site to help you out.

Alex_Alumni

Thanks so much for joining the community and sharing your news @DebJ1990 a warm welcome from me too Apart from the lovely community and it's members, you can find lots of support elsewhere online:

National Autistic Society

For parents of autistic children, young autistic people and autistic adults.

• Website: www.autism.org.uk

It may also help to listen to other people's experiences of autism on healthtalk.org.

The National Autistic Society also has a directory of services which you can search to find additional support.

Actually Autistic is a Facebook group for autistic adults, which might be worth looking into as well. 

Other forums and communities

• National Autistic Society Community
• Autism Support (HealthUnlocked)
  

I hope that's helpful for you, but please ask if anything's not clear, or I've missed anything

Enjoy having a look around the forum!

Alex

DebJ1990

Thank you very much and will check them out. Was reading some last night more about stimming. I pick and pluck hairs out but didn't realise how much was involved. Happy not to feel crazy though as I thought I was losing my mind for a long time!!

Alex_Alumni

That's positive to hear @DebJ1990, and you're very welcome

Realising something that you do can actually be attributed to a particular disability or condition is often a strangely nice thing to find out, as you say it's a relief not to feel as crazy as you thought!