ASD "round up"

BensonE

Hey I thought it would be nice to have a thread going for all us autistic (diagnosed and self diagnosed) people to introduce our selfs and ask any questions we may have about our condition

lunarcat522

This is a lovely idea @BensonE !

I'd like to ask to anyone that has knowledge/experience how to navigate accessing an NHS clinical assessment and what to expect (for adults)?

I have recently had an educational psychology assessment that has strongly recommended I go via that route to get a diagnosis.

BensonE

@lunarcat522 I'd suggest step 1 go to your GP to get on the 2 to 3 year waiting list

amy02

What a great idea @BensonE ! I'm sure this will be super helpful

Ems222

That’s an amazing idea! This is really helpful thing to have I think, I was wondering i always find it hard to distinguish from my masked self and my real self I know it’s sounds weird but I’m always confused about when I’m being each one does anyone know what I can do to try keep them separate? And like know who I’m masking around?

Amy22

Ems222 wrote: »

That’s an amazing idea! This is really helpful thing to have I think, I was wondering i always find it hard to distinguish from my masked self and my real self I know it’s sounds weird but I’m always confused about when I’m being each one does anyone know what I can do to try keep them separate? And like know who I’m masking around?

Hi I can confirm what your feeling isn't weird at all in fact this can happen the most to us all of, because we think sometimes maybe we aren't neurodiverse enough but we are simply who we are. It can feel like we aren't masking enough or not being authentic enough but that's ok to feel. For me I tend to find that I genuinely mask around strangers and people I don't know, because I always get this unsettling feeling that they may not like like the real me sometimes. However if it's around family or close friends of mine I tend to unmask a bit more because I feel comfortable around those people in genuine. It may be an idea to keep a diary or something and write down the people you feel like you can unmask around and those you find it harder to therefore you mask around them. Do you find that you tend to mask more around unfamiliar people and more unmasked with close friend, though you can still mask around family as well. I'm probably not the best at explaining this myself because I am also figuring this out for myself as well. I hope your doing okay right now .

BensonE

Ems222 wrote: »

That’s an amazing idea! This is really helpful thing to have I think, I was wondering i always find it hard to distinguish from my masked self and my real self I know it’s sounds weird but I’m always confused about when I’m being each one does anyone know what I can do to try keep them separate? And like know who I’m masking around?

That's alot more common then you'd think

Ems222

@Amy22 Thank you so much for the message it really helps I defineltly will try to write down the people I trust enough to not mask around. In answer to your question I guess I kinda feel like I mask around everyone a little I guess the only person I don’t always mask around is my sister. I hope your doing really well too and I hope you can figure things out tho I don’t think you can always have everything firgured out I’ve been diagnosed around 10 yrs I still don’t understand everything .

Amy22

@Ems222 I find that for a lot of us neurodiverse folk we definitely do mask around nearly almost everyone we meet but it can also vary from time to time especially around people we may know too. I think its all about trying out different things and figuring out what makes you feel comfortable and when you feel comfortable to take the mask off as well. I hope your doing ok right now .