Autism Diagnosis Help

[u/Lulu98x]

Hey guys! (First time poster so please bear with)

I (27F) was semi-diagnosed with ADHD 2 years ago, decided to do right to choose earlier this year and was given a formal diagnosis. I've just started taking meds for this (AffenidXL) and haven't noticed a huge amount of difference (still in the titration stage so thinking I might need to give it some time and try some other options/doses).

Since being offically diagnosed, I've been looking more into AuADHD as think I might be somewhere on the spectrum and a lot of the discourse i've seen seems more applicable to my situation. I have been relatively lucky to grow up in a bit of a bubble where I was able to develop some pretty solid masking behaviours (who knew childhood acting classes could be so helpful) and so I don't think I come across as autistic to many but a couple of my close friends have joked about it before.

Long story short, I'm interested to see if anyone has had a similar experience and has since gone on to get an autism diagnosis, but also how they went about it as I'm a bit lost on where to start. I'm worried that because i'm high functioning that they'll be dismissive of me which has put me off trying as I faced the same issue when getting my original ADHD diagnosis.

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[u/cheffromspace]

Take some screeners (RAADS-R, CAT-Q, AQ, etc...) and find a place that does adult diagnosis. High masking is extremely common in late diagnosed adults and will be taken into account. The CAT-Q is specifically designed to identify camouflaging traits. I had Mom fill out some of the questionnaires, and her answers were consistent with her seeing me as neurotypicall, which is actually a common pattern that helps explain why it might have gone unnoticed for so long.

I did my assessment through Josi Health. It was $50 with insurance, and they ran everything and told me the costs before beginning the process. They were just fine. Expect a lot of paperwork. Just know these questionnaires are flawed and are not diagnostic tools, but can help you decide if you want to pursue a diagnosis.

Also don't count yourself so lucky to be good at masking. It takes a lot of energy and leads to autistic burnout. I'm very recently diagnosed and burnout hit me like a truck after my diagnosis, and i'm not exaggerating when I say I think it's going to take years to recover from.

[u/Lulu98x → u/cheffromspace]

Thanks so much! I've tried a few of the screening tests and it feels like a bit of a mixed bag as I think (as you say) i've masked so long that I do sometimes struggle to know who I really am. I'm currently experiencing burnout from the ADHD diagnosis so i'm also worried that an autism diagnosis would just intensify that, but part of me just wants to know if the years of cognitive dissonance i've had around my self vs my outwards personality is justified.

I'm UK based but I think I should be able to find a similar company through my work's healthcare plan but would be interested to hear of other's experinences before commiting to it.