Hello everyone.

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Hi. I'm 38 years old. I'm not diagnosed, but I have long suspected that I'm autistic. I started speaking late and had a lot of dificulties growing up, ended up delaying school and missing a lot of experiences, never found it easy to communicate and have sensory problems, fear of public.
Starting from 25 I was overcompensating everything to keep up, but this resulted in intense anxiety and depression, problems with drinking until I had a burnout in 2017. This and during covid has made me rethink a lot about things. I found jobs and interviews difficult and never got a full time job, always just getting by with some odd jobs, grants and support from parents and now live rent free with partner.

I decided even at this age to get a formal assessment and diagnosis, that I'm now in the waiting list (NHS in UK).
I joined here to learn more and be able to talk without fear about these issues.

Born 1987 in Finland.
Lived in Finland, Greece and UK.
Studied Graphic Design with focus on illustration.

Interests: Comics, drawing, observation, publishing, cartoons

Now work casual/part time as Facilities Assistant in a theatre and gallery. Evenings I work on cartooning.

Ahoy-hoy.

I look forward to you happily announcing (HERE!) that you have been formally diagnosed as:
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild)

And if that is not the official diagnosis then I hope you tell us what diagnosis you do get.
The important thing is an accurate diagnosis.

Hi Elfdrift and welcome to the planet.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to WrongPlanet elfdrift ....Your description does sound alittle like many others that have landed on this Planet.
Hope you find many Forums and threads that get your interest or Attention.

Hello Elfdrift,

As a huge Neil Gaiman fan myself, welcome and may your creative endeavors help you find the some level of balance.

have fun here.
Kada

elfdrift, Welcome to Wrong Planet.

You possess a unique set of skills that other people do not possess. Drinking can destroy you unique capabilities. So it sounds like you have determined this and are controlling that problem.

You wrote, "I joined here to learn more and be able to talk without fear about these issues."
It seems that you have some good and unique skills and you are working in the right direction. Sometimes when you come up to a wall and can go not further, a door will suddenly open and it will lead you into a beautiful new world.

Thank you for your comments and responses. I already feel welcome in this space. I hope to keep learning.

jimmy m: Thank you for your comment. I will focus on continuing to develop my skills. Drinking was an unhelpful way to cope in social situations, because I was trying to mimic what others were doing. Fortunately I have years to drink or got to those places now, that I never enjoyed being in (parties, bars).

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

I scored 46 on the AQ50. Last time I scored 42, but it might be interpreting some of the questions differently this time. Just waiting to eventually hear back from the service.

I understand that sometimes there are delays in your part of the world in getting an "official" diagnosis.

But with a 46 on AQ, I think the "official" diagnosis is a foregone conclusion. A formality.

Welcome to the Autism Spectrum!