Have I told you I’m Autistic? Finding Myself at 41
At 41 I have finally learnt I’m autistic and have ADHD. Getting that diagnosis felt like someone handed me the key to a house I’d lived in my whole life but always as a guest, never as the owner. It was a mix of relief and grief; relief that there was finally an explanation for why I feel the world so intensely, and grief for all the years younger me was treated as “too much” or “too difficult” when really I just couldn’t process things the way others could. The funniest part? My friends had been calling it for years. “You’re so autistic.” “You’re definitely ADHD.” I’d laugh it off, roll my eyes, and insist it was just “lolsies.” Turns out… they were right. Annoyingly right. They are always right about me, which is both comforting and irritating in equal measure. Younger Me: Weird, Eccentric, Chaotic… and Wonderful (As It Turns Out) I was the child who was always a bit much . Weird, eccentric, chaotic and messy. I had strange OCD patterns, especially with flicking light swit...