“‘You’re WAY too sensitive.’ They don’t know I am constantly aware of the clock ticking, people typing, colleagues moving, screens shining, lamp shining, them laughing, the radio playing. This world is so LOUD.”
‘You’re just NOT trying hard enough.’ I KNEW I was different, but I tried to brush it off. Then something magical happened.’: Woman diagnosed with autism shares journey, ‘I will live a BEAUTIFUL life’
‘He’ll grow out of it,’ they’d say. I didn’t. I spent YEARS masking myself to fit who I thought I needed to be. I learned to celebrate my differences.’: LGBTQ man waiting for autism diagnosis, ‘I was BORN this way’
“I began to only stim in the privacy of my bedroom or the bathroom and treated it like a dirty secret I’d hopefully grow out of, along with my attraction to boys and all things deemed feminine.“
‘If you had autism, you’d be a unicorn.’ My social life was thriving, but I was a mess on the inside. I hated not being myself.’: Woman shares autism diagnosis journey, ‘My differences are a gift’
“I was told I was special or unique. I was the center of attention, and not in a good way. From the clothes I wore to the things I said, everything was wrong. I couldn’t fit in with the ‘normal’ people.”
