getting diagnosed with autism at 23 was the best thing that had happened to me in many many years and sure would have been nice if it was something I could have considered on my own
Also damn I wonder if there are race or gender disparities in autism diagnosis. Probably Not Fortunately
Never got diagnosed as autistic as a child.
But when I was in secondary school the teachers suspected I was neurodivergent in some way and grouped me with a bunch of learning disability students (despite having consistently high grades).
The shit I went through as a result of that made me deeply reluctant to speak to any psychiatrists about it.