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i wrote an essay for the @nytimes about my lifelong fight for a diagnosis and the clarity that it brought. i am very proud and nervous but mostly just grateful that i made it this far: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/05/opinion/autism-adult-diagnosis-women.html
autistic women and girls are massively overlooked and underdiagnosed and i found in my research (and life) that we have a really high rate of suicidality. i am so open about my own diagnosis in part because i want to do everything i can to change that for others
our mental health struggles aren't *because* we are autistic so much as because we have to mask who we are and ignore our needs. with earlier diagnosis, support and understanding we would be in a much better position - i know i am now. even just the knowing goes such a long way
i would urge the couple of people saying that i can't really be autistic to do some research and reckon with their assumptions of what that looks like. a lot of people are neurodiverse without you knowing it, and you don't know me! we are all different
i'm not going to whip out my papers or put together a list of things i can't do to prove myself, you simply need to educate your own ignorant ass and stay out of my mentions
