Late Diagnosis: School Years

A series on adapting to life with an Autism diagnosis

I began suspecting something was different about me late last year, at 32 years old.

It must sound funny to other people, that you just kind of “suspect” something is “different”. Like, even I get that it doesn’t exactly resonate out of the context of Autism. But this distinction is important—because up until that point, I had felt that something was just plain wrong.

In reality, the clues are there right in front of us, like road signs. With my Autism diagnosis early this year, I felt like I was able to look back at my life through a new pair of eyes. Things have explanations that make sense. There are patterns in my behaviors that directly match up with the social frustrations I experienced, and the pain I experienced when I felt misunderstood or unable to understand others.

I want to walk through some of the highlights of my academic struggles, and how I was able to see them differently with a diagnosis.

This topic is very near and dear to me, and it informed much of my career decision-making in terms of helping others who face similar challenges. I’ve carried education and the need for custom tailoring into web development, where I teach people complex skills while providing critical context by which…