Published on 12, July, 2020
hello . My name is Janet . Until recently I did not know I was autistic. I am at times struggling to embrace this fact . Has anyone else had the same issue
Welcome to the forum, Janet.
Yes, many of us have been through a period of being unsure what to make of it when we've discovered that we're autistic; I know I certainly did! I think it's important to remind yourself that "autism" is just a convenient term to describe things that were always there - you haven't changed in the slightest, and there's no need to change anything unless you can see a good reason to. Getting to know other autistic people on forums like this one is the best thing you could do, in my opinion. It may take a little time for things to settle down a bit, but this is helped enormously by finding other people who share similar traits and maybe have some useful advice to help you to get them straight in your mind and to cope with them better.
The people here are all incredibly generous with their help, and as most of us are also autistic, there's no need to worry about talking about things which you may have been scared or embarrassed to before - there's no such thing as a "dumb question", and no-one will mock you for admitting to "unusual" behaviours, as we all know just how it feels to get negative reactions from folks out there in "normal land".
I hope you find the forum as beneficial as I have, and best wishes.