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Hello, I’m new here. It’s been really nice to read y’all’s posts. Love hearing everyone’s point of view. Anyway, Someone suggested that I might be autistic a couple years ago. I’m 32 years old, so I thought it was ridiculous. How could I be 32 years old and not know I’ve been autistic my whole life? There’s no way. But it did spark my interest. So I started to do some research and I was really shocked by how much I related to adult autism and masking. I always just figured I had social anxiety that I couldn’t get over and sensory issues. I grew up in a family where being different wasn’t okay, so I always tried to fit in. Never really accomplished that goal, but I really tried. Now I’m reanalyzing my whole life trying to figure out if this is actually possible. I don’t think I want to get evaluated because of all the political nonsense happening right now. I just want to know for my own well-being. It feels like I might have the answer I’ve been trying to figure out my whole life. Unfortunately I don’t have anyone to really talk to about it. I don’t really know what I’m asking. Does anyone relate to this? Thanks for reading anyway.

Hi there

Welcome to wp and thank you for joining us

Feel free to explore the site

Maybe it might help if you have a look in the general autism area to start with as that's where the autism things mainly are

The haven is a nice calm area where you may get support for a while range of things and I believe the making friends area is useful for people like yourself too

However feel free to explore and make yourself feel at home

mummblebee, Welcome to Wrong Planet.

You wrote that you are exploring the idea that you may have Autism.

My first thoughts were to pass on that autism can be very different between males and females. Females tend to hide the condition better then males. Females are much better at masking and blending into society.

But what happens with many females is that around the age of 30, they begin to find that it is harder to blend into society. And they experience greater stress.

You wrote, "Now I’m reanalyzing my whole life trying to figure out if this is actually possible."
There are several on-line test that you can take to determine that question. They are free. It will not give you a perfect analysis but they tend to be accurate.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Thanks everyone! Happy to be here.

Welcome to WP! No matter what diagnosis fits you, I hope you like it here.

And, um...

I knew virtually nothing about Autism except what I'd picked up from commercials for Rain Man. And I was nothing like him so I would have rejected any suggestion that I might be autistic.

Then, around the end of 2018:
- My then 88 year old Dad lived hundreds of miles away so we only visited a couple of times a year.
<><>Though we visited by telephone more frequently.
- One of my sisters lived near him and was a nanny for special needs children,
<><>And took one with her when visiting Dad.
- And Dad said the kid was doing the same "weird" things I used to do.
<><>When I was that kid's age Eisenhower was our president!
- I asked my sister about the kid (who she was proud of) and got one lead I could follow:
<><>His parents suspected he might be Autistic.

I thought Autism was extremely unlikely to be the answer for me. I was nothing like Rain Man! But I was in my 60s, had suspected I was somehow different for decades, and had no clue what the difference could be. Since it was the only tidbit that had crossed my path I investigated Autism.

- And the more I read the more it sounded like me!
- So I got my bride to read about Autism. She also thought it sounded like me.
- Then I found AQ and it said I had a lot of Autistic traits.
- Then I asked my bride to take AQ on my behalf, giving the answers she thought I should give. Again a lot of Autism traits.

That was enough support for me. I got a formal Adult Autism Assessment from a licensed Psychologist who worked with Autism.

At the beginning of 2019 I would've denied being Autistic. By the end of 2019 I knew I was Autistic.

The revelation was wonderful. It explained so much!

But, beware!

1. There are other conditions that resemble Autism. That's why a formal, expert assessment is needed.
(P.S. Might you be ADHD? My bride is and, after reading about Autism noticed she had many of its traits. Fortunately I found this chart and it persuaded her that she was ADHD, not Autistic. Thank goodness! My diagnosis would've been a lot more crowded and noisy with her on it, too!)

2. It is possible to have some Autism traits but not enough so to qualify for a formal diagnosis.

3. Would an Autism diagnosis be a good thing for you or a bad thing?

- If you want or need treatment or special handling because of it, a diagnosis is a good thing.

- If you do not need treatment or special handling because of it, would a formal diagnosis cause you problems? There might be professional issues with a formal diagnosis. People that don't know you might judge you solely on the basis of that diagnosis. If you are firmly established, though, this might be less of a concern.


I got my diagnosis in 2019, days before my 65th birthday. I've been completely, comfortably retired since 2011. (It could cause a problem going into the military but I'd already done that.) I didn't expect a formal diagnosis to be a problem for me and it hasn't been.

Unfortunately, as I get older I see medical professionals more often (not for Autism) and I wish they would adjust our interactions to accommodate my Autism. I've had very little luck with that.

Oh, and if you learn that officially you are Autistic, be careful with one mistake I made. I've been doing pretty well for myself so I wondered if any other Autistics also had. I checked online and was crushed by the answer; I've been doing OK but not that OK! It took me awhile to get past that.

Do I relate to being a 32 or 33-year old female?! Not really!! !!

To being an Autistic? Well, yeah...kind of...

Ahoy-hoy.

Welcome! Hope you figure it out. That imposter syndrome can be hard and sneaky.

I got diagnosed AF. Put it in my charts so my doctors know I'm cool before they even see me.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hi Mummblebee, welcome to the planet.