Autistic and Undiagnosed

Overview

Living with undiagnosed autism for many years has a profound effect on one’s life. As someone who has done this, I felt it would be useful to others for me to describe some aspects of my experience. In particular, three groups may benefit most: professionals who work with autistic people diagnosed later in life, those autistic people who were identified only in recent years, and those people who are autistic and still do not know it. My hope is that what I say here will be useful to you, and to the present and future clients you will work with. The body of this essay is divided into three sections: internal mechanisms that I developed in childhood, the results of these mechanisms and other influences, and suggestions for other folks like me and those who work with them.