Hi I’m a new member

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Hi I am a 42 year old mother of two young adult boys. I have suspected I have autism since my youngest son was undergoing assessments for ASD in 2010 and I realised that many of the issues I’ve had since childhood were starting to make sense. But there were some things that did not fit into the criteria for me such as developing new interests every few weeks or months and then losing interest quickly - and because I fidget a lot when I sit still.
It has really been in the past year or so that I realised that it could be ADHD causing me to lose interest so quickly and I recently started work properly for the first time which has made me revisit my previous issues. I realise my brain is very slow to process a lot of information so I decided to go ahead with assessments.
I live in the UK and the waiting list for anything like that is at least two years on the NHS so I have opted to go private.
I had my first ADHD assessment yesterday via video call and my second will be later in the month. After that, I am hoping they will recommend that I have an Autism assessment as I have already told them that I believe I am autistic.
I would love to hear from people who have been diagnosed with both Autism and ADHD - particularly other women who were diagnosed at an older age (not as a child) and if anyone else is in the UK so I know what to expect regarding the assessment (private or NHS).
Thank you.

I am not sure what to expect as I have been on the list wating since late april to early may 2019. They say two years but it is more then that. The waiting list was slowly coming down here in Wales after major investments in mental health as it had been six years where I live, but then covid hit which has not made things easy.

The autism people are great. Is just they have such a mamoth task to do, and even extra money they have had takes time before the waiting lists come down.

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

Last edited by Mountain Goat on 08 Dec 2021, 10:42 am, edited 2 times in total.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to WP! And, no matter what the diagnoses are, or are not, I hope you like it here.

I will mention that while I am definitely no expert, it is my understanding that there is overlap between the high-end of ADHD and the low-end of the Autism Spectrum. Apparently they share many characteristics. This caused confusion for my ADHD bride when I had my Adult Autism Assessment in 2019—she noticed that she had many of the Autism traits, too. I dissuaded her by pointing out two specific Autism traits she lacked: limited interests and adherence to routines.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Thank you for all replies

Welcome to WP!

welcome!

Welcome! Journey is one of my favorite bands.

Thank you.
Journey were never really heard of in the UK until Don't Stop Believin' was released here in about 2009. But I have been a fan since the late 90s. Infinity and Escape are my two favourite albums.