#late diagnosis

[thatadhdmood]

an eloquent take down of the "people are self diagnosing autism to be trendy and for attention" take that morons have been echoing on tiktok

[video description is the reblogs, its very long]

#actually autistic #autism #thatadhdmood #adhd #actuallyadhd #autistic #autistic adult #neurodivergent #autism diagnosis #autistic culture #autism spectrum disorder #autistic experiences #autism spectrum #late diagnosed autistic #late diagnosis #late diagnosed autism #adhd diagnosis #actually adhd #autism tiktok #nd tiktok #neurodivergent tiktok #neurodivergencies #nerodiversity #video described #video description

[neurodivergenttales]

Gentle Reminders:

Do not feel embarrassed for relying on safe foods (you are not 'picky' or 'demanding')

Do not feel ashamed for stimming in public (you are more than allowed to regulate yourself)

Do not feel guilty for saying 'no' (burn out is real even though this capitalist society glamorises it)

Do not neglect your special interests because other people think they're strange/obsessive (people judging you for experiencing joy are the actual problem here)

Do not feel guilty for asking for accommodations (the world is not one-size-fits-all and you deserve access)

#mental health #neurodivergent #neurodiverse stuff #actually autistic #late diagnosis #late diagnosed autistic #autistic adult #actually autism #autism #autistic things #burn out #stimmimg #unmasking

[turns-out-its-adhd]

Did you kNoW?

Stimulants affect people with ADHD differently because our brains are not processing the naturally produced dopamine as effectively as a neurotypical brain would. The stimulant helps boost us to a 'normal' feeling level.

This is why when a neurotypical person takes ADHD medication they have extreme bursts of productivity and write their thesis in one night or I dunno remodel their house, while an ADHD person might just take them and be like 'Hooray I managed to wash my clothes and hang them up in the same day!'

Jokes on them though, because I can drink coffee at 11pm and sleep right after. Take that society.

#neurodivergence #adult adhd #adhd #neurodiversity #adhd brain #adhd things #neurodiversesquad #executive dysfunction #stimulants #medicated adhd #caffeine #late diagnosis #adhd symptoms #adhd superpower

[imaginarylungfish]

i constantly forget that stimming will help me. like sometimes i feel so overwhelmed and start catastrophizing about my job or a partner or my family or friends. BUT THEN I STIM. and life's okay

#actually autistic #autism #actually neurodiverse #adult autism #actually neurodivergent #neurodivergent problems #late diagnosed autistic #late diagnosis #stimming

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

Nobody is “too young” to be cynical or jaded or hate their life. There is no appropriate age for that. If someone is experiencing that at any age, their mental health is at risk. Doesn’t matter how young they are, or how easy their life seems. Just because existential dread didn’t hit you until later in life, doesn’t mean everyone else gets to be so lucky.

“You think life sucks now? Just wait until you’re grown” okay grandpa what if they don’t make it to adulthood? What if it gets worse until they only see one way out and they take it? Stop being dismissive. Stop forcing your problems onto young people and start taking them seriously about things. Period.

(Inspired by this post)

#childhood trauma #adverse childhood experiences #depression help #childhood depression #late diagnosis #child advocacy #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #neurodiversity #autistic kids #emotional abuse #tw sui implied #tw sui talk #complex trauma #depression anxiety #childhood emotional abuse #childhood emotional neglect #kids are people too #anti fakeclaiming #fake claiming #comorbid conditions #comorbidities #mental health matters #mental health representation #mental health education #intersectionality #child health #depression tips #mental health rant #actually autistic

[snakeautistic]

It’s always been “just anxiety” for me.

People saw me struggling, socially and emotionally under the weight of societal expectations and assured me it was all an affect of my social anxiety. That if I could just change my mindset, push myself a little harder, just stop worrying so much, all of my problems would magically melt away.

I was filled with immense shame over traits I perceived to be my own personal failings. I wondered if there was something different about me, and was told that it was demeaning even to consider the idea. I was just nervous. I must not be putting in enough work to get past my fears. I was resistant to treatment in therapy. I was argumentative. My perceptions of myself were distorted.

Who knew how immensely powerful it would be for me to know that my problems were not self inflicted.

#actually autistic #autism #autistic #asd #neurodivergent #autism spectrum #neurodiversity #autistic things #late diagnosis #late diagnosed autistic

[ejbuckley]

tw/ bullying, ableism

one of the most heartbreaking things about my late autism diagnosis is realising that i wasn’t bullied for my looks - as i always thought. i was bullied for being autistic, for the way i reacted to things and acted. i grew up hating the way i looked and tried so hard to change myself. it wasn’t until the manic pixie dream girl phase that people were nice to me, it was all ableism and that’s devastating.

i will never forgive the world for that.

#autism #autistic culture #ableism #autistic women #actually autistic #actually audhd #audhd #autistic #late diagnosed autistic #late diagnosis #autistic adult #autistic community #being autistic #autistic experiences

[lesbianslovebts]

When I was 22 or 23, I realized that I might be autistic and started doing some research. I read books written by autistic people, scrolled through the actuallyautistic tag on tumblr regularly, and took a dozen online tests. Everything pointed to the fact that I am autistic. For a while, I felt comfortable with self-diagnosis, at least until it became clear that I needed accommodations at work. I finally pursued an official diagnosis at 26, and the process took almost an entire year. I received the paperwork on December 6, 2022. The emotion I expected to feel was relief.

Instead, it was grief.

I grieved for the time wasted not knowing. I grieved for the child who struggled with traumas that still plague my mind and body. I grieved over all the missed opportunities in my life, opportunities to get help, to become independent. I grieved for my present state of affairs, the extreme isolation of leaving the house only for therapy or shopping. I grieved for the rest of my life, which will never be without autism.

As much as I am proud to be autistic, I am angry and sad and scared. So, so scared.

Note: This is okay to reblog. I would like to hear the thoughts and stories of other autistic people in the comments or tags. Allistic people (including allistic ND people) can reblog, too, but please don't add on.

#autism #actually autistic #actuallyautistic #late diagnosis #llbtspost

[noodle-shenaniganery]

I think one of the big issues with autism representation is largely that we don’t get that many autistic characters in media. It’s impossible to represent the entire spectrum in one character. And oftentimes, even when we do get representation, it’s the same types of characters over and over again. The spectrum is broad! It’s chaotic! Almost any representation could hypothetically reflect someone’s experiences, so why keep using the same few archetypes repeatedly? There are so many ways an autistic character could be written. Look, here’s some:

- A nonverbal autistic character with the power to manipulate plants who often uses plants to communicate (e.g. grows cacti when upset, dandelions when happy, roses when they like someone/something, orchids when confused, etc.). They also use plants to move around, grab things, point, etc. due to significantly impaired motor control.

- A nonspeaking, physically disabled autistic character with strabismus who is the ‘tech genius’ of the group. They often can’t go on missions themself because of their disability, but are completely fine with providing the rest with the gadgets, advice, and the occasional Dad Joke™️.

- The ghost of an autistic person who keeps trying to make friends with the new residents of their home, but doesn’t understand social rules at all and keeps accidentally scaring people by appearing/saying things without notice. They also stim by yelling, singing, and moving (things) around, which understandably freaks people out.

- A blind, semispeaking autistic teenager whose special interest is music, and their life mostly revolves around music. They mostly speak in song quotes, and are trying to learn how to play as many instruments as possible. They switch between different mobility aids that help them get around (they are dynamically disabled from their Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), from crutches to wheechairs. They could also try to be in their school’s music club and/or orchestra, while also dealing with high school shenanigans.

- An autistic adult who, after decades of going undiagnosed, is now adjusting to life knowing that they’re not broken, just different. They also have comorbid mental illnesses, partially as a result of their late diagnosis.

There you go. There’s some ideas.

(If anyone uses these, please tag me or let me know, I’d love to read some stories with these.)

#autism #actually autistic #asd #autism spectrum disorder #nonverbal #nonspeaking #semispeaking #blindness #late diagnosis #mental illness #tw ghost #just in case #autistic #autistic adult #autistic teenager #writing #autism in media #writeblr #writing advice #I JUST WANT BETTER AUTISM REPRESENTATION

[ineedfairypee]

Fake it til you make it

#autism memes #actually autistic #autistic women #autistic girls #autistic problems #autistic life #neurodiversity #autistic things #girls with autism #autism community #women with autism #female autism #autism meme #autistic memes #autistic masking #autism things #autism #autistic community #autistic culture #psychology memes #psychology #autism diagnosis #undiagnosed autistic #undiagnosed autism #late diagnosed autistic #neurodivergent #camouflaging #late diagnosis #autism spectrum #ineedfairypee

[neurodivergenttales]

I wish people would stop expecting instant emotional reactions

When someone tells me something, whether that's upsetting news or happy news or anything in between, it takes me a while to process it

I need time on my own, away from other people's eyes and expectations, to think it through in my head, understand the consequences of it and what it actually means

People think that a lack of emotional reaction at the time means you are cold or uncaring, they don't realise that processing isn't a seconds-long process for everyone

For some people, processing can take minutes, hours, days, months, even years

Give people that time and don't judge people for not following the same emotional timescale as you

#neurodiverse stuff #actually autistic #autistic adult #autistic #actually autism #autism #asd #late diagnosis #late diagnosed autistic #neurodivergent #unmasking #unmasking autism #processing

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Late Diagnosis/Discovery

Autisticality

#autism #actually autistic #late diagnosis #self discovery #feel free to reblog #tw bright colors #tw eye strain

[turns-out-its-adhd]

NEURODIVERSE-SQUAD, ASSEMBLE!

#neurodiversesquad #adhd memes #neurodivergence #neurodiversity #neurodiverse stuff #adult adhd #adhd #autism #ocd #depression #anxiety #dyslexia #mental health #mental wellbeing #late diagnosis #undiagnosed #self diagnosis is valid #medicated #unmedicated #adhd symptoms #symptoms

[imaginarylungfish]

y'all just ever catch yourself masking alone at home? like hey there brain, no need, babe

#autism #late diagnosed autism #late diagnosis #actually autistic #actually neurodiverse #adult autism #masking

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

Childhood trauma culture is being grown and still getting really into whatever was popular with kids/teens when you were that age because you feel like you missed out

#childhood trauma #adverse childhood experiences #late diagnosis #medical trauma #family trauma #parental abuse #csa survivor #sa survivor #trauma disorders #traumagenic #trauma recovery #cptsd healing #cptsd recovery #complex trauma #age regression #trauma response #post traumatic stress disorder #complex post traumatic stress disorder #autistic trauma #neurodiversity #neurodivergent #late diagnosed autistic #audhd problems #intersectionality #comorbidities #comorbid conditions

[snakeautistic]

I didn’t really do the classic lining up things as okay as a kid, but interestingly looking back I think I might have done something similar? I did a lot of setting up my toys in various different ways in order to create a particular scene- arranging a dollhouse and dolls in just the right poses, sorting my stuffed animals into a “town” based on the different professions I’d chosen for them, creating elaborate dioramas for my plastic animals.

I would at times act out scenarios with my toys after this set up- and every time I played with them I demanded they be set up first, otherwise I wouldn’t play with them- but the majority of my enjoyment came from the arrangement of my toys. I’m just curious if anyone else did this. I also liked to collect new toys to add to my setups too- properly sorted, of course.

#actually autistic #late diagnosed autism #late diagnosis #neurodivergent #autism #autistic traits #autistic experiences #neurodivergent experience #neurodiversity #autistic #asd #autistic things #was it the autism