Congratulations! You’re Autistic! Now What?
At last, you know for sure. You’ve had your assessment and diagnosis, or you’ve grown confident in your own self-identification. You can say it. You’re Autistic! Say it with pride!
If you’re like most people, you may have a lot of mixed feelings around this new knowledge. That’s okay! Many others have shared this same emotional roller coaster.
So many feels!
Take a moment and give yourself the gift of time while you process your new identity. There may be some anger, after years of being misunderstood. You may need to learn to forgive yourself, and others in your life, for not recognizing your Autism sooner. You may be worried about what people will think when you tell them. Or if you tell them. Who should you even tell, and how, and when? The good news is that you don’t have to decide that right now. You can take your time and become oriented to your neurodivergent identity at your own pace.
In the meantime, what can you do to learn more about Autism?
Read.
Libraries, bookstores, and the internet are filled with books and other content written by Autistic writers. These folk are very much like you, and they’ve been down the path you are on right now. A trip down the world-wide rabbit hole will give you tons of options. Enjoy immersing yourself in the learning experience. If you’d like a short list of places to start, we’ve got some recommendations for you here.
Devon Price
If you haven’t read Devon Price’s Unmasking Autism: Discovering The New Faces of Neurodiversity, this is a great place to start. Dr. Price is a compelling writer, and I highly recommend his books. You can read my review of this book here.
Another book by Dr. Price, Laziness Does Not Exist, is also a great read. If you’re like a lot of late-diagnosed, high-masking Autistic adults, you may have been called lazy, or called yourself lazy, when you didn’t meet everyone’s expectations. When you need to take a break to prevent sensory or social overload, it’s not laziness, it’s an important and necessary accommodation. Please read this book, and let yourself soak in the message that you are not lazy, because Laziness Does Not Exist!
Marian Schembari
Marian Schembari has written a memoir that you need to read, A Little Less Broken: How an Autism Diagnosis Finally Made Me Whole. Many have recognized themselves in her personal journey. This book will take you around the world, and deep inside one woman’s struggle, finding herself after years of being misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Schembari writes beautifully and compellingly about her Autism diagnosis experience in a way that, by the end of the book, you’ll feel that you know her. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook so you can hear her story read in her own voice.
Megan Anna Neff
Dr. Mean Anna Neff is an Autistic clinical psychologist, researcher, writer, and neurodiversity blogger. Read her blog post, Rethinking Perspective-Taking: Reflections from an Autistic Psychologist, or Neurodivergent Notes: We Are Wired for Connection. Her book is Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask!
Kaelynn Partlow
Kaelynn Partlow has a YouTube channel and an online presence as a former cast member on the first season of Love on the Spectrum. She’s also written a book you might be interested in, Life on the Bridge: linking my world to yours as an autistic therapist.
Chloe Hayden
Among her many achievements, Chloé Hayden is an award-winning motivational speaker, an actor, an author, and a disability rights activist and advocate. She starred as one of the first Autistic characters in Netflix’s Heartbreak High, and she wrote a book, Different Not Less.
We hope these Autistic authors will get you started on the road to learning more about your new Autism diagnosis. If any of your favorites aren’t listed here, let us know and we can add them to the list. There’s a lot to learn, and I hope you enjoy your own personal journey. You’re in good company, so again, congratulations!
