Do you think it is wrong for someone to say they are autistic when they aren't diagnosed?

It was my sister, who was a primary school teacher at the time, who suggested that I might be autistic, as she'd done training as part of her job to help kids with special needs (and their parents) and recognised some of the signs in me. This was in 2016/17 but my dad's terminal illness meant that I didn't start the journey to an assessment and diagnosis until 2019, then of course Covid-19 threw everything up in the air and it was 2022 when I finally got formally diagnosed. I considered myself autistic already, but there was that niggling thought in the back of my mind that I'd not be believed by anyone outside of my family and close friends. While the validation of a diagnosis has helped, I still don't talk much publicly about my autism, but I'm hopeful that in time that'll change.

It was my sister, who was a primary school teacher at the time, who suggested that I might be autistic, as she'd done training as part of her job to help kids with special needs (and their parents) and recognised some of the signs in me. This was in 2016/17 but my dad's terminal illness meant that I didn't start the journey to an assessment and diagnosis until 2019, then of course Covid-19 threw everything up in the air and it was 2022 when I finally got formally diagnosed. I considered myself autistic already, but there was that niggling thought in the back of my mind that I'd not be believed by anyone outside of my family and close friends. While the validation of a diagnosis has helped, I still don't talk much publicly about my autism, but I'm hopeful that in time that'll change.