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A Tale of Two Diagnoses: Older Adults and School-Age Children
When I was first diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in late 2000 at 44 years, I was already a middle-aged adult. For most of my life, I had always felt that I was different from most people my age in a variety of ways, not to mention frequently reminded of such by others (usually in a very unpleasant...
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How to Get Unstuck After Receiving an Adult Autism Diagnosis
When I was diagnosed ASD level 1 at age 42 and realized what the staggering number of undiagnosed autistic women my age* must be, my first thought was of all the untapped talent that was out there in the world like misplaced dynamite. There was world-changing potential just waiting to be...
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How My Autism Diagnosis Helped Me Accept Myself and Lead a Happier Life
Throughout my life, I have faced significant challenges. These were most notable as a child, particularly in terms of social and sensory issues. My sensory issues used to be extreme. I couldn’t bear to be in a room where any cupboard doors were open, the sight of certain fruits caused me strong...
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11 Compassionate Parenting Tips for Families with Autistic Children
Few people realize the challenges of being a parent, until they become one. Now, imagine the added challenges of parenting an autistic child which is becoming more common as the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increases. According to the Centers for Disease...
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Why Didn’t My Pre-Diagnosis Clinicians Bring Up the Possibility of Autism?
So much was lost as a result of not knowing for so long. Lost happiness, because of having to contend with unanswered questions as to why I faced such daunting challenges which none of my peers seemed to be facing. Lost time, during which I lived without a complete picture of who I truly am, during...
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Autism Around the World: An Interview with a First Lady with a Degree in Special Education and “Autism Belize”
She doesn’t flinch… “We need money! We need a lot of money. We need a lot of training, and it costs a lot of money…We’re not lost. We’re not this little country that has our heads in the sand. Every time somebody suggests to me ‘Let’s have a Special Education summit!’ It upsets...
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I Was Finally Diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism, Now What?
I suspected I was on the Autism Spectrum for over 20 years before I finally received a diagnosis. Like many people with high-functioning autism, my autism went unnoticed because I was intelligent enough to succeed in school and my autistic traits were not seen as neurodivergent, but as learning...
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Late-Diagnosed Autism and Camouflaging in People Assigned Female at Birth
It is becoming increasingly understood that there are marked differences in autism between genders. This has led to people assigned female at birth (AFAB) to being diagnosed in adolescence or adulthood at a higher rate compared to people assigned male at birth (AMAB) (Wood-Downie et al., 2020). I...
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Honoring My Limitations as an Autistic Entrepreneur
I am an autistic entrepreneur. That is a sentence I couldn’t have uttered that long ago. As far as the entrepreneurship part goes, I’ve run a business that I founded in 2013 called Autism Personal Coach. With the help of so many others, my company has turned into a business that is stable and...
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Supporting Teens and Adults in Becoming the Best Self-Advocate They Can
The creation of self-advocacy is a story that is one of pioneering and revolution dating back as far as 1968 (Glumbić et al., 2022). Today, many self-advocacy organizations target elevating neurodiverse voices and providing space for neurodiverse individuals to advocate for themselves. The current...
