“You’re NOT Autistic! Late-onset Autism isn’t a thing!” She said, quickly shutting down any conversations about my late Autism diagnosis. Continue reading Late Autism Diagnosis & Generational Trauma – When Loved Ones Don’t Accept that You ARE Autistic
I’m covering a reader question: “wondering if you could cover the topic of connecting with other people, and building friendships while on the spectrum.”
Something else that’s incredibly important, for me, as an Autistic Person, and my relationships with other people, is:
I need people in my life to be willing to accept me for the whole person, my strengths, my weaknesses, all of my identities, my Autistic traits, my me being a Queer Person. All of these things have to be okay.
The people in my life can’t be people who need for me to put parts of myself away, when I’m around them.
Continue reading Autism & Developing Authentic Relationships – My Autistic Experience
Sometimes when I am unable to get away from other people, or the situation that I am in, or event that has triggered my meltdown, then I will go from flee to fight, and have a meltdown, where I may become air quotes, “combative”, “aggressive”, “defensive” -because I feel as if I am in danger, and cannot flee and get away from the danger, so then it switches to “defend myself and fight”. Continue reading Autism & Learning to Recognize Autistic Meltdowns Before It’s Too Late
It was August 23rd, 2016, when I went in for the first part of my autism assessment, an in-person interview with myself and the person who would be reviewing my childhood history and medical records.
By the end of August, all of the interviews would be concluded, and by early September 2016, at the age of 29, I would be diagnosed Autistic.
At that point in my life, being almost 30 and having such a bombshell of a piece of information dropped upon me, I skimmed a 13 page (actually 14 page) diagnostic report, but was very overwhelmed, and couldn’t process the report in front of me. In fact, I threw the report into a paper shredder, and destroyed the report.
However, recently, more than five years later, I’m feeling more ready to face the information that was in front of me all of those years ago. Continue reading Late NeuroDivergent Diagnosis – Diagnosed Autistic at 29 – Reading my Autism Diagnostic Report
I didn’t find out I was Autistic until I was 29, and my ADHD wasn’t diagnosed until several years later, however, autism and ADHD are both lifelong neurodevelopmental differences.
This means I was Autistic and ADHD my entire life, growing up, as a child, and I will be Autistic ADHD, my brain will be the same, the day I die.
There were obvious manifestations of my brain difference as a child growing up, many of which were labeled as “behavioral problems” and dismissed, or I was constantly scolded for acting in a very Autistic ADHD way.
Continue reading Things I Got in Trouble for Growing up as an Undiagnosed Autistic ADHDer
This week, I’m going to be talking about attractions, sexual and other kinds of attractions to people. Who we’re attracted to, and different orientations that people may have. Whether they are attracted to other humans… or not. Continue reading Pride Month – Pansexual, Polyamory – Human Attraction is a Spectrum
What’s it like being Autistic? The answer to that question is going to change a lot, depending on the Autistic Person you ask… but I’m happy to share my experience with you this week. Continue reading What is it Really Like Being Autistic
Before I learned I was Autistic, I didn’t look for information in people’s faces, or their body language, to see how they were feeling or even to see if they were interested in things I was saying. It just never really occurred to me that there was information there and at 29, I started to study what facial expressions and body language means.
That meant I was having really difficult interactions with other people, because I wouldn’t realize I was annoying them, or I wouldn’t read the situation well. Continue reading I’m Autistic and this is Why I Find People Overwhelming
When I first discovered I was Autistic at the age of 29, it was because I was going through Autistic burnout and that’s because I was in a perpetual state of burning myself out because I didn’t know I was Autistic and I didn’t know how to establish healthy boundaries with the neuro-typical people around me that kept insisting I didn’t really need the things I was saying I needed. Continue reading Setting and Maintaining Boundaries when You are Autistic or Neurodivergent
I recently had the extreme pleasure of being invited onto the Adulting Autistic Podcast. In this episode we talk about stimming, friendships as an autistic adult, life after an adult diagnosis, and more! Subscribe to the Adulting Autistic Podcast: Spotify … Continue reading The Adulting Autistic Podcast – Adult Diagnosis, Stimming, Friendships, & More!