ATLANTA (AP) — Natasha Nelson, a 35-year-old entrepreneur in Stone Mountain, Georgia, had no innate sense of social norms. She didn’t know why people first met and chose to engage in small talk instead of deep conversations, or why people like to make their own beds.
Then, a few years ago, she was diagnosed with autism shortly after her youngest daughter received the same thing.
“Your life always feels like it’s confused, you don’t feel comfortable, you don’t feel like you’re thriving, you always survive and go to the next thing If you feel like that, do you lose what you get?” Nelson said he encourages people to seek a diagnosis.
Natasha Nelson, diagnosed with autism in August 2023, is sitting in a sensory room that she uses to calm her child in Stone Mountain, Georgia, shortly after her youngest child was also diagnosed. AP Photo/Bengray)
Common signs of autism include social communication problems and fixation to specific routines and topics. Nelson says, “People are now my special interest,” and it’s possible that someone’s childhood is not noticed.
However, there is a shortage of medical professionals trained to work specifically with adults, obtaining a later autism diagnosis can be costly and challenging. For more information about what you need to know about an adult autism diagnosis, see below:
What is autism and is it usually diagnosed?
Autism spectrum disorders are rigid and can be tracked by routines, fixed or obsessed, and have difficulty maintaining eye contact and understanding nonverbal communication. It is a range of subject, language, and social difficulties. Autism is usually diagnosed in childhood, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening all children for 18 months.
Why are more adults diagnosed with autism?
Over the past decade, more adults have been seeking insight into their neurodiversity. Often after the child is diagnosed or after seeing a social media post. A study published last year at JAMA Network Open showed an increase in autism diagnosis in adults aged 26 to 34 years old from 2011 to 2022 by 452%.
Some characteristics of autism may not be noticed until adulthood when there are new social demands. Others may have learned how to hide a certain behavior known as masking.
“Adults have learned to compensate over time,” said Whitney Ens, a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who works with adults with autism. “They may have learned something like, ‘I can’t display it in public, so I do it in private.’ ”
Additionally, symptoms overlap between various disorders such as ADHD and OCD, and difficulties in executive functions such as nonverbal social cues and attention span, working memory, and problem-solving. It can complicate the diagnosis.
What are the symptoms of autism in adults?
Symptoms are different for everyone. Many traits are also common in people without autism, such as enjoying everyday life and beating rabbit holes.
However, to meet the diagnostic definition of autism, symptoms must cause serious disorders, says Dr. Arthur Westover, a psychiatrist specializing in autism at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. said.
“We are generally human. We like routines… having a bit of joy and feeling better with routines doesn’t mean you’re autistic,” Westover said. I said that.
Russell Lehman, 34, has been diagnosed with autism for over 20 years. The motivational speaker has a routine that he describes as comfortable and stressful. He said he would eat the same food and buy the same groceries. However, when he skips the skip to the gym for an hour and a half every day, he is overwhelmed by feelings of depression and failure.
“It’s like not even a gym or a day,” he said. “…My routine is an incredibly existential burden, because every night I sleep knowing I have to do a routine that I just don’t like to work.”
How does the diagnosis work?
There are a variety of online screening tools, but autism is a complex diagnosis, so experts recommend talking to their primary care physician about referrals to psychiatry.
A psychiatrist may want to interview people who were present in your childhood, such as family and friends who can prove the symptoms that are present at the time.
Some psychiatrists may refer you to a psychologist. Psychologists either provide standardized diagnostic autism tests or use their own clinical judgments. There are no brain scans or blood tests for autism.
Being diagnosed with autism as an adult can be costly and time consuming. Westover said there is a major shortage of professionals working with adults with autism. Nelson’s diagnosis took three years and she paid over $3,000.
We also suggest asking a few questions when considering getting a specialist diagnosis and knowing that you may run into a waitlist. Need access to the service? Are there any services that I cannot use? ”
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