Autistic (undiagnosed or not) Adults Thread

[LittleMy]

Just updating this thread to say I have an assessment coming up soon and I’m terrified! Not because I’m afraid of the diagnosis (I know in my bones I’m autistic) but I feel kind of embarrassed to be making a fuss at my age. And about spending all this money going private.

I’m also scared about having to drive to an unfamiliar place which is something I usually flat out refuse to do. So that’s bothering me more than the actual assessment right now.

Don’t worry, you’re not making a fuss. If a diagnosis helps you in any way, even if just to confirm what you knew in your heart, then it’s worth it.

I don’t drive (too anxious to take lessons) but I can see why that would scare you if it’s unfamiliar. Do you use a sat nav, that could be helpful. I’m sure you will be just fine.
Best of luck to you

 

[unidentified]

Just updating this thread to say I have an assessment coming up soon and I’m terrified! Not because I’m afraid of the diagnosis (I know in my bones I’m autistic) but I feel kind of embarrassed to be making a fuss at my age. And about spending all this money going private.

I’m also scared about having to drive to an unfamiliar place which is something I usually flat out refuse to do. So that’s bothering me more than the actual assessment right now.

One thing I’ve done in the past for myself and also do with my daughter (newly diagnosed autistic at 15) is do a test run before the appointment/day I need to be there. Then the actual day isn’t a worry. Maybe this can help? Definitely agree a satnav too.

 

[maytoseptember]

Oh I could never cope without a sat nav Although ours has an annoying habit of sending us wrong right at the end of the journey, which is one more thing to panic about.

Hadn’t occurred to me about doing a dry run. It would be a two hour round trip and I’d probably be too anxious to drive into the city centre for a coffee to break up the journey (I mean where would I park? I would usually be too embarrassed to discuss my driving anxiety but in this context, it’s relevant!)

If I could convince husband and two kids that we could all go to the city for a trip (and to find the place I needed to go) that might work, but they’re both autistic and hate leaving the house and long car journeys respectively, so that won’t be possible. FML

 

[shadowcat5]

Oh I could never cope without a sat nav Although ours has an annoying habit of sending us wrong right at the end of the journey, which is one more thing to panic about.

Hadn’t occurred to me about doing a dry run. It would be a two hour round trip and I’d probably be too anxious to drive into the city centre for a coffee to break up the journey (I mean where would I park? I would usually be too embarrassed to discuss my driving anxiety but in this context, it’s relevant!)

If I could convince husband and two kids that we could all go to the city for a trip (and to find the place I needed to go) that might work, but they’re both autistic and hate leaving the house and long car journeys respectively, so that won’t be possible. FML

What I do in this circumstance is go on google maps and use the little yellow man to look at the street it's on. Sounds a bit weird but it feels more familiar for me then cause I recognise it

 

[maytoseptember]

What I do in this circumstance is go on google maps and use the little yellow man to look at the street it's on. Sounds a bit weird but it feels more familiar for me then cause I recognise it

Oh don't worry I was one step ahead of you. Obsessively scrolling up and down the street, studying junctions etc. Also comparing Google Maps directions vs AA routeplanner directions and being annoyed that they were different. And then worrying some more as I looked at the step-by-step instructions and found that "take first exit at the roundabout" in text was actually the second exit/straight ahead on the diagram, aaaaargh! Not just once but twice. Seriously can't deal with this

 

[penny1992]

What I do in this circumstance is go on google maps and use the little yellow man to look at the street it's on. Sounds a bit weird but it feels more familiar for me then cause I recognise it

I do this too! I do the drive on street view the night before and I look out for places that stand out. (where I need to turn right there's a mcdonald's etc lol). It helps.

 

[Millennial Pink]

I get driving anxiety too, and usually if I need to drive somewhere it's somewhere I've never been before. I've been known to park up at a car park 15 mins away from my intended destination to avoid having to find street parking. I have no sense of direction and have been known to take wrong turns even with a sat nav XD

 

[Millais]

I haven’t driven for years as I moved to a major city with decent public transport to basically everywhere I needed to go, but I hated driving back when I did. I never understood why it caused me so much stress. Like several of you have said, I’d do the route on street view first on the odd occasion I went somewhere unfamiliar and I never even went on a motorway the entire three or so years that I drove. I think it was anxiety over being in charge of a massive killing machine (well Citroen C1) coupled with sensory overload - you’re constantly looking for people, vehicles, lights, signs, there’s noise, and it always felt like the whole world was just happening too fast if that makes sense? Not just in the sense that I was physically travelling at up to 70mph and reacting in real time. I still have a recurring dream where I’m driving a car and just like hitting things and going through red lights because I’m overwhelmed and can’t react in time. Bizarrely, a former coworker once told me that he’d dreamt that he was the passenger in a car where I was driving like this! I’d never told him about my dreams. Weird.