this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
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Autism
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Let's say I do book an appointment, get the test(s), and it's positive. Now what? Do I show it to my boss the get easier tasks? How much can/will an official diagnosis affect my life? (In Australia if it helps)
I can only speak from my experience (USA based), but:
You can get access to drugs you may or may not wish to use.
Any new life insurance plan's premiums will go up as soon as you get prescribed those meds.
You will probably go through a period of post diagnosis regression as you reevaluate unhealthy coping mechanisms you've developed. Even if you think you already accept your brain for its difficulties and quirks.
You might spend a couple months being really annoying about your diagnosis as you figure out how to incorporate it into your identity. This lines up with a lot of the post diagnosis regression.
On the far side, you might end up redeveloping new coping strategies that are slightly less shame driven. But the demands of the world around you probably won't flex around your new diagnosis.
TBH if you're old enough to be on here you probably already know how to manage your environment and needs to live in the world, it's just a question of if you can actually acknowledge you have special needs and if you're capable of being kind to yourself while addressing them. And a diagnosis does help with quelling the anxiety around "do I actually have special needs or is everybody like this"
I got autism diagnosis as an adult mostly because of my long struggle with depression and physical health problems. Having the official diagnosis helps when interacting with health care; it is a confirmation that my needs differ from a neurotypical and they have to act accordingly. Now I can point to the diagnosis whenever needed, so they don't for example try to force stuff on me that just won't work (like group therapy).
From my experience: Only an ADHD diagnosis is useful, and only because the medications really do help.
For autistic children it's sometimes worth diagnosis to get additional help in education.