"Late female diagnosis of autism"

Diagnosed March 2020 at age 54 after struggling at work and eventually resigning from a job that in part I loved.

Being autistic has helped me understand all the difficulties I have coped with for so long. Knowing it’s OK to have sensory needs, communication difficulties and a right to a happy life, as who I really am helps me understand how to spend my time and take care of my mental health.

Dialogue sessions with Autism Dialogue provided some short term support and a sense of community that I had never before experienced.

Support from my employer, the NHS and community services never works out and I feel unseen, unheard and misunderstood. It has reached a point where almost all attempts to communicate trigger a kind of trauma response in me and I have to give up trying.

Issues with my current employer have piled up and I think I am going to have to give up my job again. I am struggling to take care of any of the general admin life requires and can’t find any help.

I am becoming less able to talk to anyone, including friends and family.