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[quote=Anonymous]We've had an unusual journey with our 21 yo dd . She was actually very popular, outgoing, and masked extremely well until the end of high school. She was dx with ADHD at 12, but wasn't dx HFA until she was 19. When increased skills were needed and added stress of COVID, college, meeting ALL new people instead of the ties of being friends with people from sports or since kindergarten, etc - that's when she ran into a wall. 
She's still struggling with increasing demands as she prepares to enter the workforce (she's a senior). She did well in her internship (was offered a full time job from the internship!), but it was very taxing. She has over a 3.9 GPA and has been very focused on her studies (to the detriment of pretty much everything else). She's struggled with anxiety and depression for about 4 years. It has gotten better, but she's not herself and is very sad that she is "weird" and "missing" so many things. She hasn't had a romantic life (she said she's ready to think about it, so fingers crossed!) and college social scene is pretty difficult (not a partier and doesn't know where to met people like herself - she was dx during college, so we didn't pursue specific schools that are good for kids with autism. She goes to a midsize school about an hour away, which was necessary for stress relief, doctor appointments, etc. She did move off campus with a friend/acquaintance this year. She plans on moving home to save money upon graduation for 6ish months to save money before getting an apartment in the city near her job.

Let me know if you have specific questions. We're really just starting this journey since she was dx later.  We're moving from survival mode to sustainable strategies as we prepare for graduation in a few months. Good luck! It's so hard to watch them suffer. I think the most important things we've done are to find a social group for adults (she's starting one in a few weeks, finally!), focusing on a schedule, stress management. Growing up, she had sports as her primary outlet and made a lot of friends that way. They started to abandon her when her anxiety and depression kicked in and she withdrew.

Does your child have specific fave activities?[/quote]

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