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Embarrassment

Briar
11 months ago

Any one else who was diagnosed later in life feel embarrassed by having an ASD label? When I first found out I guess I was relieved. Then after telling a few acquaintances and getting various responses I decided to stop telling anyone for a while. Where as now it seems that everyone and his (her or whatever) wife are either diagnosed or looking to get diagnosed. So now I feel like if ever I share that I am ASD people will think oh, another one *rolleyes*. I guess part of it is also how people perceive autism too, as an example stimming. I only have very mild stims that I wouldn’t ever do in front of anyone else because of the embarrassment. But I wouldn’t want anyone to think I full on stim as shown in the recent Chris Packham episodes. It’s as if I feel like being autistic makes me less of a person. 

This post is purely for discussion and not meant to offend anyone (which seems pretty easy to do these days). 

Parents
  • 11 months ago

    There is currently is a rise in people being diagnosed later in life due to social media and people having access to information that we once didn't have. Many AFAB people slipped through the net of early diagnosis due to masking. And I think if the world has an issue with that then that is their issue to have and not ours as autistic people. And I'm sorry that you are experiencing backlash of this, that must be incredibly difficult. 

    I went through burnout due to subconsciously masking and part of my recovery has meant I've had to learn to stop masking and hiding my autistic self in order to recover and feel better. Part of that means stimming in front of people and it's nothing huge, just a small fidget cube in my hand for the time being but it's made such a big difference for me. 

    You and your experience are completely valid. I see you. However masking and hiding our autistic selves can have consequences, as I've found out. So just be mindful of that. 

Reply
  • 11 months ago

    There is currently is a rise in people being diagnosed later in life due to social media and people having access to information that we once didn't have. Many AFAB people slipped through the net of early diagnosis due to masking. And I think if the world has an issue with that then that is their issue to have and not ours as autistic people. And I'm sorry that you are experiencing backlash of this, that must be incredibly difficult. 

    I went through burnout due to subconsciously masking and part of my recovery has meant I've had to learn to stop masking and hiding my autistic self in order to recover and feel better. Part of that means stimming in front of people and it's nothing huge, just a small fidget cube in my hand for the time being but it's made such a big difference for me. 

    You and your experience are completely valid. I see you. However masking and hiding our autistic selves can have consequences, as I've found out. So just be mindful of that. 

Children
  • 11 months ago in reply to Deleted user

    It was burnout due to masking that set me on my journey to diagnosis and I know I need to change how I operate or it will never get better, but a lot of people react negatively if I tell them.

    I’m trying to sneak in bits of stimming and other small changes but the fact I’m trying to sneak them in means I’m still basically masking.

    I may have to get a t-shirt that says “I’m autistic. Get over it”