@KatyElphinstone

The fun thing is, that those of us from these generations probably started with the worst understanding of what autism is and the more certain belief that this is something that only doctors can diagnose. Which would make us more likely to want to go through that process, rather than rely on self-diagnosis and our own research to come to any realisation.

Of course, we've also often had the most experience of the fallibility of doctors and perhaps are less likely to trust them, after being falsely diagnosed with things before. Which might explain why the numbers seeking this path are so low compared with younger generations. Also, the gatekeeping of said doctors, who seeing our masks and age are perhaps more openly against recommending it.

And perhaps, at the end of the day, it is our age that is the biggest factor. The masks and success we might have achieved through life, holding us back. The realisation that an official diagnosis really doesn't do anything for us and the lives we have lived, always leaving enough room for caution, if not doubt about taking one.