At the time of my diagnosis, I was in a low place.
After twenty-nine years of working harder than most people around me to get only a fraction of the results (while at the same time being told I “wasn’t applying myself” and needed to “try harder” in life), I was demoralized.

It’s cruel to tell someone who has done their best to “try harder.” Still, it happens all the time because most people do not have even a foundational understanding of the spectrum of human strengths and weaknesses, taking it for granted, assuming we all have the same brains and experiences. Continue reading From Shame to Self-Acceptance: How an Adult Autism Diagnosis Helped Me Find My True Self