Today I went in for my Autism assessment.
Two and a half hours and ~$1200 later, I left with an “Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1” diagnosis.

This was absolutely not a surprising result.
In fact, I would have been surprised to receive any other diagnosis (or none).

I have known I am Autistic for a couple years now.
I first wrote about it almost exactly 2 years ago in my post: “Not (Just) Weird”.

It has been quite a wild ride, with anxiety, depression, & medication woes, and an earlier neurodivergent diagnosis of ADHD. The mix of Autism and ADHD (known a AuDHD) is in many ways its own beast; with some aspects of each condition masked by the other and others amplified.

Along the way, I have learned how to better cope with sensory overstimulation. It isn’t perfect, and I also experience what may be my first meltdown following a travel heavy vacation.

I have also just learned a lot about Autism, and attempted to share this new knowledge, with often mixed results.

This diagnosis was just one more small step in my journey of self awareness and acceptance, but it was an important one.


NOTE: I feel it is important to say: self-identification as any flavor of neurodivergent is totally valid.

I just felt the need to get this diagnosis for myself and for talking to those outside the ND community.