ANNA Living Legacy Archive

I grew up autistic but did not receive a diagnosis until I was 50. My parents were aware that I was different, but everyone treated me as if I was like everyone else. They didn’t want me to “feel” different. Yet I knew that I was, so it wasn’t long before I figured out that being different was “bad.” So, why then, when I finally pursued a diagnosis of autism, did I feel so relieved and good about myself? It has taken me years to figure this out. I now want to share my conclusions with others to hopefully spare other autistics the agony that I felt growing up not being allowed to be the person I was born to be. It seems odd that society studies and values diversity in nature, but only reluctantly acknowledges, much less accepts, it in people.

Society needs to recognize and support autistics in embracing their differences, not hiding them to “fit in.” It is up to us, as autistics, to support each other in understanding our differences, advocating for our right to be taught and perform in the ways we do best, and be given support to achieve goals that we want and are motivated to achieve. We need to be allowed to show the world what we CAN do well without pressure to conform to social norms to achieve it. Most of all, we need to recognize and get society to recognize and help us deal with the co-occurring conditions many of us have that can impact on our ability to function and stay functional. We need to push back against subconscious biases in others and avoid internalizing those biases that discourage us from being the very best autistic person we are capable of being.