Entrepreneur Natasha Nelson always knew that she was different.
A 35 -year -old man from Stone Mountain, Georgia fought with the establishment of social norms.
He found it difficult, and could not understand why people did things like making beds.
He was diagnosed autism In 2023 – Even after the diagnosis of her youngest daughter.
Now, Nelson is encouraging people to find Diagnosis If they also think, or have long suspected that they can occur on the spectrum.
“If your life always feels that it was in anarchy and you do not feel comfortable and you don’t feel that you thrive and you think you are constantly living and going from one thing to the next, what did you have to lose?” Nelson said.
Common signs of autism include trouble with social communication and a fixation on some routine or subjects – Nelson says “people have now become my special interest” – and no one can pay attention during someone’s childhood.
But especially due to lack of trained medical professionals to work with adults, it can be expensive and difficult to achieve autism in life later in life. There is more information about what you should know about adult autism diagnosis.
What is autism and when is it usually diagnosed?
Autism spectrum disorder There is a series of intellectual, language and social difficulties, such as the following routine, determined or obsessive interests and interactions or struggling to understand the melodious communication. Autism is usually diagnosed during childhood, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend all children to screen at the beginning of 18 months.
Why are more adults being diagnosed with autism?
More adults have sought an insight on their own neurodiversity in the last decade – often after diagnosing their children or after seeing social media posts. A study published in the Jama Network Open last year increased by 452 percent in autism among adults from 26 to 34 years of age from 2011 to 2022.
Some symptoms of autism cannot be noticed to anyone to adulthood, when new social demands occur. Others may have learned how to hide some behaviors, known as masking.
“Adults have learned to compensate over time,” Whitney Ens said, a psychologist at the University of California who works with autistic adults. “They can learn that ‘I can’t display it publicly, and so I do it privately.”
Like there is also an overlap of symptoms between different disorders ADHD And OCD It can complicate an autism diagnosis due to non-abusive social signals or executive functions such as meditation periods, working memory and difficulties with problems.
What are the symptoms of autism in adults?
symptoms Separate current for all, and many symptoms are common for people without autism, such as enjoying routine or enjoying going under the rabbit hole of information.
But to meet the clinical definition of autism, symptoms must cause significant loss, Dr. Arthur Westover, a psychiatrist who specializes in autism at the University of South -Western Medical Center in Texas.
Westover said, “We are normally humans. We like routine … just enjoying a little bit and feeling better with the routine does not mean you are autistic.” “It is slightly deeper than that.”
Russell Lehman, 34, has been with his autism for more than 20 years with his autism. The motivational speaker has a routine that he describes both as comfortable and stressful. After eating the same food and buying the same grocery items, he said, he gets rest. But if he goes to the gym for one -half hours every day, he is overwhelmed by the feelings of depression and failure.
“It is like a gym, no day,” he said. “… My routine is an incredibly existed burden, because every night I go to bed, knowing that I have to do a routine that I don’t just like to work.”
How does the diagnosis work?
While various online screening equipment, autism is a complex diagnosis, so experts recommend talking to your primary care doctor for a psychiatry referral.
The psychiatrist may want to interview those who were present in your early childhood, such as family and friends who can tell about the symptoms present at that time.
Some psychiatrists may mention you a psychologist, who may give you a standardized diagnostic autism test or will use your own clinical decision. There is no brain scan or blood test for autism.
Getting an autism as an adult can be expensive and take some time. Westover said that there is a major drawback of experts working with autistic adults. Nelson’s diagnosis took three years and paid more than $ 3,000 out-of-packets.
Ence also suggests that you ask yourself some questions while considering receiving a professional diagnosis, and to know that you can run in a weightlist: “What do I have to do to think that I need a professional diagnosis under this path? Do I need to access services? Do I have services?”