Hi, I'm a little unsure as I write this. I'm at a point where I've begun
to seriously consider I might be on the spectrum, but I'm not sure what
to do with this. Throughout my teens I had a myriad of diagnoses, they
all made sense for my symptoms, bu...
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Hi, I'm a little unsure as I write this. I'm at a point where I've begun
to seriously consider I might be on the spectrum, but I'm not sure what
to do with this. Throughout my teens I had a myriad of diagnoses, they
all made sense for my symptoms, but I'm a big believer that diagnoses
are not definitive (they certainly never felt that way). It's easy to
identify with a label, but I am now at a point where they are more of a
diagnostic/treatment tool that doesn't always serve the patient. Thought
I'd preface with that. About six months ago I was diagnosed with adult
ADHD, I'm now 21 and the signs were always there, but they were largely
blamed on anxiety. I know neurodivergent women are under diagnosed, and
I had huge pushback from my family when I was considering ADHD
assessment. In the end, I was diagnosed and respond very well to
medication. The one thing that didn't really change, and perhaps even
became more identifiable, were sensory issues that I had blamed on my
OCD but realised had been there my whole life and had continued even as
my anxiety became more manageable - I'm in a constant battle between
under (novelty-seeking) and over stimulation (panic attacks, burn out,
shut down). They were just a little quirk of my behaviour (I hated hugs
as a kid, hated certain foods, was generally just that weird little kid
that spoke fast, or not at all, and knew too much about certain things),
but living with a partner I've realised a lot about myself - my
communication style, my obsessiveness, my inflexibility with routine and
love for the mundane. I'm rethinking stimming, and listening to the
stories of late-diagnosed ASD women is frighteningly relatable. I did
the autism quotient test and scored well into the range for ASD, but am
struggling to understand the pros and cons of diagnosis. I've been
considering it since I was 14, but only in the last year or so have I
actually bothered to learn what autism really looks like (outside of
gross 90's movies). Advice is appreciated.