I was diagnosed at 59 in 2021. After realising that I might be autistic I researched autism very thoroughly and came to the conclusion that I was autistic. I only desired a diagnosis as a form of validation for what I already knew. I found both realising that I was autistic and being diagnosed as such, very positive experiences. Knowing I was autistic gave me a concrete reason behind my problems and difficulties in life. It also allowed me to see where some of my heightened competencies, such as in problem solving and superior attention to detail, also came from. As diagnosis of autistics without comorbid intellectual disability only became common after the mid 1990s, I could not realistically bemoan not having had my autism recognised in my early years.
I was diagnosed at 59 in 2021. After realising that I might be autistic I researched autism very thoroughly and came to the conclusion that I was autistic. I only desired a diagnosis as a form of validation for what I already knew. I found both realising that I was autistic and being diagnosed as such, very positive experiences. Knowing I was autistic gave me a concrete reason behind my problems and difficulties in life. It also allowed me to see where some of my heightened competencies, such as in problem solving and superior attention to detail, also came from. As diagnosis of autistics without comorbid intellectual disability only became common after the mid 1990s, I could not realistically bemoan not having had my autism recognised in my early years.
