Late-identified Autistic Adults and the “What Now?” question
I’m part of a growing group of folks who are discovering their neurodivergence later in life. It simply wasn’t on the radar despite stumbling through like a fish out of water and the dexterity to go with it. Finally at 48 years age, I was diagnosed autistic, with a bonus diagnosis of ADHD three years later.
Everything I believed to be true about myself and my place in the world disintegrated before my eyes. Although I have always instinctively questioned what I saw and heard, I began to question the very idea of what of what was normal — or if normality was even a valid concept. It felt like everything was up for grabs — gender, sexuality, relationships, parenting, family, work…
Despite experiencing deep inner transformation, I struggled to make changes to my life which from the outside remained exactly the same. I didn’t even know how to tell people about my diagnosis — or whether I even needed to. So for the most part, I didn’t. I just sat on it. Months passed, then years.
I had no idea how to advocate for accommodations at work or how to find support to help me navigate this massive transition. Whenever I searched the internet, everything that came up was for parents…
