goodoldfashionedfanboy-deactiva:

autistic-reptile:

anyone else who was diagnosed later in life feel like they finally “found themselves”??

I never knew who I was before getting diagnosed. like, I genuinely had no sense of identity. I had too many interests, was bad at making friends, and was not outgoing - that’s about all I could describe about myself. any real personality traits felt fake or like I had taken them from other people or characters.

realizing i was autistic was like finally seeing myself correctly. it’s not my identity, but it explains so much about who I am, and in realizing all these traits I’m finding my actual personality traits intertwined. and I couldn’t see that before, all I saw was the bad parts about me and how I felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere.

anyone feel me

This was exactly me. Once I was finally professionally diagnosed with autism many years after first expressing symptoms, I felt like I can finally be myself without repressing all my autistic tendencies. I felt like I could openly stim and infodump like I always wanted, and pursue my special interests even more because now I knew the reason behind why I did these things. Finding out I’m autistic gave me a sense of community, solidarity and allyship with other neurodiverse people that I never felt before, and I’m so glad that despite my late diagnosis, I finally discovered myself. Being autistic is part of who I am and has always been so, and now I know I can express this aspect of myself openly and be loved for what I am; an autistic queer man.

I have known I was autistic since Preschool. I was put on an IEP (in preschool lmaooo.) And even though my parents and I opted to not get me diagnosed (for various reasons- But I was evaluated by 1 or 2 child behavior speaclist) I still feel very welcome without a “proper,” diagnosis.

The autistic community will support you with or without a proper diagnosis. There are so many reasons why someone may choose not to get one. I hope that in your real life everyone has a community where they can express themselves freely - not just in the “normal,” way.