The earlier you're diagnosed the better the outcome ?

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^ I agree with you. I think we learn things when we are ready to do so. Not as a opinion, but as in a level of maturity on the inside. (This is one of the reasons I am opposed to treating all children the same...ie, you must learn to read by kindergarten, you must be able to solve algebra problems by high school.) Different people learn at different rates and at different times.

Its like any other condition. The earlier it's recognized the better. Simple as that.

So you get "labeled". So what? You would get informally "labeled" anyway. So what difference does it make?

If you're on the mild end of the spectrum, you're probably better off not being diagnosed, because you will carry a label the rest of your life. I see this on WP where some people have said they want to deny their diagnoses. It's true you'll get support if you're diagnosed, but then everybody needs to learn the same skills for coping with life — with autism it's a bigger challenge but you'll have to learn them or you won't succeed. Knowing you have a "condition" doesn't make you any more likely to learn those skills, in fact it could give you and others an excuse for not learning them, which might make life easier in adolescence but will bite you in adulthood.

I was diagnosed at 11 and was lucky enough to get to go to a special middle school for a few years, where I had peers who didn't shun me and staff who didn't suspend me for melting down. Without that incredible experience, I think I would have missed some vital social development. (Before that, I had gotten to the point where I didn't know anyone in my class and I spent all my school time alone.) People say that a stigma can follow you, but I don't tell anyone I'm autistic unless it comes up, which it almost never does. My current job doesn't know. (Although I wonder if I should tell them because I think they would get some kind of tax break for employing me if they knew. But I don't think I'll tell them hahah..)

Also...

It's a complex issue . For example the ASD may be mild , but it might be accompanied by a psychotic illness . Both are going to negatively impact on how well a person functions . Such a person is very much different from someone with stand-alone ASD 1 .

I wasn't diagnosed early. I don't think it's possible to know which is better for an individual because no individual can have both experiences, in order to compare.

Here are some pros and cons I can think of, when I picture myself diagnosed as a child. Yes they are idealised because I don't know that the services would have necessarily been available in the 1970s, but one can dream:

PROS OF EARLY DIAGNOSIS:
My family would understand why I was different, and not bully me.
I would have a small classroom setting with fewer sensory demands and social triggers.
I wouldn't skip classes because I wouldn't be terrified of "all the kids".
I would have accommodation for my poor executive function, rather than failing classes.
My teachers would embrace my learning style and help me to develop strategies for weaknesses.
I might have met other children who were autistic or neurodiverse.
I wouldn't have hated myself or hated other girls (I always felt excluded by them).
If I had more female friends I would have learned social norms better, and not been victim to manipulation.
The list continues through University where I would have found a niche of autistic classmates.
The list continues through my employment where I could have sought accommodations, rather than burning out.
I wouldn't have been so naive or susceptible to sexual abuse, manipulation, extortion, or identity theft.
I would have been taught the skills to self-advocate when in peril, rather than having meltdowns.
I would have been taken seriously by doctors which would have helped my entire medical history.

CONS OF EARLY DIAGNOSIS:
I might have felt like a failure for having a label (but I don't know how that could be worse than my self-labels).
I might have been excluded from some opportunities by nature of being "disabled".
I could have developed learned helplessness (but I sincerely doubt it, with proper supports).

That's about all I can think of.

I agree, Bender. That's why I said I'm idealising. In reality, the only special education classroom I remember at my school was for speech therapy or literacy support. I actually did go to speech therapy, and my brother went to literacy support. His program had nothing to do with autism accommodations. I guess I'm being wistful and imagining my childhood could have been better, based on the types of school supports I see offered today. In all likelihood based on my generation I might have ended up in an ABA setting and that would have been pure Hell.

I normally say I'm proud to have navigated on my own and I suppose I am, but I do wish I had access to other autistic children so I wouldn't have felt like the only one on Earth.