Being diagnosed late in life has meant that I’ve needed to learn a lot about a new subject that I didn’t know applied to me. I’ve read personal accounts written by autistic people, I’ve read research papers, I’ve looked into coping mechanisms – and mostly found that I’ve built my own solutions over the years without realising what I was doing. Trial and error were my constant companions.

Learning about what being autistic is, means that I can see the links between my behaviours and motivations for what they really are. Neurotypical motivations don’t apply to me, I don’t work like that.

It’s been a journey of acceptance and understanding that has increased my quality of life exponentially.

I listen to myself more. I recognise my needs. I don’t always do the things that would stop overload, but I’m aware of the consequences, I rock if I need to rock…