Suspect I might be neurodivergent?

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Hello everyone,

I have been doing lots of research for months about neurodiversity and wondering if I might be somewhere on the spectrum. I finally started working with a therapist last year at the age of 24 after dealing with mental health issues as long as I can remember. I don't know if this or another board is the place to post this, but I've been diagnosed with various conditions such as GAD, PDD, MDD. At this point I suspect that there is a different root cause of all the difficulties I have faced with life. I have always had sensory issues (more prominent as a child) w/ hypersensitivity to touch, auditory processing, and pain.

My brother was diagnosed as being autistic when he was a child and I suspect my father is as well given the overwhelming number of similarities between them. The one difference between myself and them is I don't appear to have many social difficulties, but it always takes a huge amount of energy out of me.

I've always felt out of place and different and recently found out every single one of my close friends has been neurodivergent, whether it be ADHD, autism, etc. I'm sure I've left things out but didn't want to make a bigger wall of text than is already present.

I also don't know how reliable certain self-assessments are such as the AQ, RAADS-R, EQ, SQ, and CAT-Q are but I've scored in the neurodivergent range on all of them. Not entirely sure where I am going with this but hoping to chat with other people here and see if anyone else has had a similar experience/background and what experiences people have had with pursuing an adult diagnosis.

Thanks in advance.

You already mentioned:

https://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

Getting a diagnosis is a personal preference. Some people do it to get supports or help in school. Others just for self-knowledge. If you are convinced you many not really need a diagnosis as an adult.

My son has a diagnosis, he needed it to get support in school. I have taken the rdos test and have the results in my signature (no official diagnosis).

Hello,
I have not been diagnosed but, after reading a lot about autism since my son was diagnosed in the last couple of yeras, I suspect that I am on or near the spectrum.
I also have some sensory issues and find socialising very tiring.
I have noticed most of my friends are people who are happy with diversity; many of them have neurodiverse people in their families or are from other cultures.
I read 'The complete guide to Asperger's syndrome' by Tony Attwood and found that I recognised myself in many of the descriptions there.
Another book I like is 'Been there, done that, an Aspie's guide to life on Earth'.
I think I might be in the grey zone between neurotypical and autistic, definitely some autistic features, what some people call the 'broader autism phenotype'.
For me I feel I don't need a diagnosis, it is enough to read and learn about autism.
You might find it useful to have a diagnosis, many people find it useful to have clarity.

Analogy: My mom and sister had horrible migraines so I thought a migraine was a severe headache that put a person in bed for days, seeing spots without nausea. So when a doctor suggested my frequent nausea and mild headaches were migraines, I rejected the idea. Ummm, guess what? I have migraines. A lot. So, yes, you can be ND or Autistic and it will look a different way from others that are ND or Autistic.

It took almost 50 years to diagnose me with ASD b/c (in part) I am outgoing, expressive and "warm and friendly" (when I can be). But I am on the same Autism sphere as the previously stereotypical introverted, non-expressive and reserved folks.

My therapist has said my ability to compensate (masking) is amazing (still, I appear ND) so it's as if I'm treading water and it looks fairly smooth on top but underneath I am kicking and thrashing around like crazy and in near a constant state of alarm and exhaustion. Perhaps you relate.

At first I thought I was a "little" Autistic, initially I scored 26 on the AQ. Then I started to see my behavior as close variations of the questions (not quite so literally - which should have scored me EXTRA points) and now I regularly score 35 or so. And now I can see how very Autistic I am. I am in a program to explore how very Anxious I am (my evaluator diagnosed me with GAD, but said it was secondary to ASD for me). Two years ago I would have said I wasn't Anxious (and wasn't Autistic - like you I was considering it for my child) - it was simply the way to live life. Now it's become apparent to me that near every task (except my interests) are large on the anxiety scale, many, many times a day. Exhausting. At least now I can validate myself and learn to assert and accommodate myself when needed.

Welcome to WP!!