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My name is Jess, I think I may be on the spectrum

jsilver256 said:
I used alcohol to suppress much of the difficulty. Alcohol really does suppress the same part of brain involved in sensory processing and other autistic symptoms. You'll find many ex-alcoholics on this forum.
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That was very true for me too, I was a huge drinker and alcohol really does help with social issues as long as you don't drink so much that you turn in to a dribbling mess. I was what is known as a Functioning Alcoholic.

I was lucky in the fact that I never formed an addiction, I used alcohol as a social lubricant but when I wasn't around people I didn't need or desire it. I do enjoy a nice cold beer on a hot day though.

When I got social housing I found myself living in between two non functioning alcoholics, useless appendages with anger management issues. Watching them in action has almost entirely put me off of alcohol. I have absolutely no sympathy or compassion for those people, they created their own problems and now create problems for others around them as well. Drug addiction is one thing, being an arsehole is something else entirely.
 
DrBadStrings said:
I don't know where she is at but in Canada if you are looking it's around 2-3000 and most health insurance does not cover it unless you are a child. If you are an adult that slipped through the cracks like I did, no help or supports with trying to get a diagnosis.
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That's pretty much what it was like when I was living up near Darwin. Almost no services at all and if I wanted a diagnosis I would have had to pay through the nose for private psychiatry appointments.

But I grew up in South Australia and they've always been really good on the social services side of things, better than the rest of the country, so I came down here knowing that I'd get a diagnosis cheaply and get social housing as well.

South Australia has always been ahead of the pack on social issues and our government has created a Ministry of Autism to help speed up the resolving of issues. Australia is a federation of self governing states, each with their own parliaments.

The Office for Autism
 
Outdated said:
South Australia has always been ahead of the pack on social issues and our government has created a Ministry of Autism to help speed up the resolving of issues. Australia is a federation of self governing states, each with their own parliaments.

The Office for Autism
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Again I am amazed with what you've got going on down there. A Ministry in charge of just that is beyond anything I could conceive of for my own country. It's the lack of resources that has actually motivated me to go back to school, online, and I'm working to get my undergrad finally finished then do a Masters in counseling psych to eventually work with Adults with Autism and that have had substance abuse issues themselves. Maybe down the road I'll be able to help someone by being a resource that wasn't available to me at the start of my own journey or recovery and late diagnosis.
 
DrBadStrings said:
Maybe down the road I'll be able to help someone by being a resource that wasn't available to me at the start of my own journey or recovery and late diagnosis.
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That attitude makes you a winner. You're someone who searches for a way through the mess that is life, instead of just sitting in the gutter and crying about it.

Canada is also a commonwealth country so your parliamentary system won't be all that different to ours. It should be possible for you to lobby and push for a little bit of social change in your government's policies too. You can wave examples from Australia in their faces. Right now is a good time for that too, with Vancouver pushing to become a sister city of Sydney. (Sydney also doesn't have great social services though)

Use Adelaide as an example, best social services in the country and also the most stable economy in the country.
 
Welcome Jess.

If you can be assessed, why miss that chance.

I'm having to go through hurdles to get mine.
Our NHS doesn't test adults, only children. I have to go at it through private clinics.
One seemed to think they were doing me a favour, even if I have to pay everything myself, in full.
But anyway...
Knowing for certain is better than living with a "what if", in my opinion .
 
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