I’m autistic and perfect just the way I am 🌟

I am NOT an open book so I am sharing to hopefully help others who may have felt quite lost their entire lives!

Receiving a diagnosis of being autistic or neurodivergent has been so helpful for me and I am sharing my experience in case you also are left feeling like an outcast and not feeling like you belong in your skin. This may also be very helpful for you!

I took the RAADS R and scored a 187, if you are wondering if perhaps you are also neurodivergent? It could be helpful to take the test and this is a resource that doctors will use to have you fill out a questionnaire to see where you land on the spectrum.

I recently learned that I am neurodivergent. And as someone who has struggled my entire life and my Drs have missed this diagnosis my whole life, this has come as a huge relief 💕 My autism diagnosis made my entire life, starting with my childhood and all the way through today, make sense. It validated my childhood struggles, for example, and made me feel more at peace with myself.

My story is a common one for late-diagnosed adults with all sorts of neurodivergence, not only autism. Adult-diagnosed ADHDers, for example, frequently experience struggles in college or work caused by their unsupported neurodivergence.

Like many late-diagnosed adults, once I received my diagnosis, my past snapped into focus. When I looked back at my childhood, it became clear that I was so very, very autistic.

For example, I lined up my books, pencils, and hair clips in specific ways, and when others disturbed my neat little piles, I would get upset—sometimes very upset. I had intense “special interests" in a few specific things, another typical autism trait. Also I take things very literally so I do not understand or get puns or sarcastic humor as I think the person is being serious and literally saying what they say.

Some of these interests have not abated as I’ve gotten older. This is one of the things that makes people who are neurodivergent even more special because when we're interested in a subject we give it our full attention and that is how I feel about my work which I'm very passionate about and this brain is what makes me good at my job.
I was frequently bullied, as autistic kids often are. (Research shows that adolescents with ASD are victims of bullying at a rate of 46 percent or more—compared to 22 percent in the general adolescent population.)
I also suffered a lot as a child and young adult because I was deeply misunderstood: by my parents, teachers, and peers at school.
I also had other signs as a child like toe walking, social struggles and anxieties, repeating my words and much more. (I also have ADHD as these 2 love each other)
My whole life I've often felt like an outcast like I can't fit in with neurotypicals or average people. I don't process things the same way other people do and I often end up just mirroring or masking. How other people respond to life events in order to feel "normal" or like I fit in. Growing up this left me feeling very isolated and like something was very wrong with me. Now understanding that my brain just processes information different. This is a huge relief off my shoulders knowing that there is nothing wrong with me. I'm just different.
There are several terms for us with neurodivergency.
you can be:

Neurodivergent
Neurospicy 🌶️
Neurosparkly 🌟
Or others
Reclaiming terms for resilience, creativity, and pride 🤗🌞 I prefer neurosparkly 🌟🦄
Because of my autism diagnosis, I’ve learned that what I suffered wasn’t my fault. I was targeted because I was autistic. And, when I should have been taught how to protect myself, I was not.
But we can protect ourselves now, starting by addressing the lingering pain inside ourselves that stands in the way of mental peace and happiness.
Anxiety and neurodivergent and ADHD are all like "cousins" If you've got one, chances are you've got the other so it's just really helping me put some puzzle pieces of my life and my mind together. It's really helpful ❤️❤️