getting diagnosed with autism at 23 was the best thing that had happened to me in many many years and sure would have been nice if it was something I could have considered on my own
Also damn I wonder if there are race or gender disparities in autism diagnosis. Probably Not Fortunately
How would you even go about getting that diagnosis? I'm just worried that I'd spend the time and money to go to a doctor and what if they tell me I don't but what if they're just a prick, I'd never be sure.
I went through the absolute fucking song and dance and being the literal luckiest person in the world to actually get diagnosed with ADHD at roughly 30 (no dox no dox), only to find out I was diagnosed while I was in foster care as a child and they just never treated it or told me when I got kicked out into the world upon hitting the magical "we no longer care lol" age. So that was neat. Got my childhood medical records to confirm (different country, never part of the country I was diagnosed in as adult records), literally wanted to stab EVERYONE.
I cannot fathom how much harder it'd be if I was AFAB or wasn't exceptionally lucky or had more complexity than 'just' ADHD.
I still drive 3 hours to see that doctor twice a year and do phone health visits the rest of the time specifically just because every other doctor I've met sees medication as "only necessary to make you more productive for your employer lol" and not maintaining your quality of life, gym and cooking habits, personal hygiene and social norms vs hyperfocus binges sessions, sleep routine, social interactions, etc. and I am fucking terrified of having to start from scratch.