Sometimes Autistic People Relate to Me. And Sometimes They Don’t

I write a lot about autism. As an autistic adult and therapist specializing in late-identified autism, autism is on my mind a lot.

Most of my essays focus on a subset within autism: individuals who learn they are autistic as adults. This is what is known as “late identified autism.” My essays speak to the experience of going your whole life feeling “off” and not knowing why. I examine how many of us were able to make it well into adulthood without autism being diagnosed. I explore the impacts of not knowing we were autistic for most of our lives, and what we can do now to enhance our lives.

"My Autistic Self" Collage by Jackie Schuld

So essentially, I write about a subset within a subset of people. It’s a pretty niche thing.

People sometimes criticize my essays about autism saying they’re not reflective of all autistic people. GOOD. That’s the point. I’m writing about a small subset within autism.

Even within this small subset, there is still a normal variety of human life. I hate cooking, and I have an autistic client who loves it. I enjoy writing profusely, and I have an autistic client who never writes.

We may all relate to general experiences (such as sensory sensitivity and a system that can be easily overloaded with feelings and thoughts), but we still have our unique interests, passions, and ways of being.

As an autistic writer, I like to capture these experiences. Sometimes other autistics relate, and sometimes they don’t. That’s ok and how it should be.

You can read my essays about my personal experiences of being autistic to see for yourself:

• Hating Cooking as an Autistic Adult

• I Make Giant Lists About Autism for Fun

• The Challenges of Writing Publicly About Autism

• The Risk of Sharing my Autistic Passions with Others

• I'm Reclaiming Weird for My Autistic Self

• I Expand and Then I Contract

• I Stopped Seeing Myself As Broken When I learned I was Autistic

• Respecting my Limits as an Autistic Business Owner

• I Need to Lessen the Pressure on my Autistic Self

• My Autistic Brain Doesn’t Want to Watch TV Right Now

• Embracing Who I am as an Autistic Adult

• I Used to be a Very Judgmental When I Didn’t Know I was Autistic

• A Letter from An Autistic Adult to Trust

• Don’t Get So Upset: A Line that Doesn’t Work for This Autist

• Why This Autistic Writer Didn't Respond to Your Comment

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Thank you for reading. If you’d like to read more, sign up for my FUNletter. If you would like to explore your autistic identity with an autistic therapist, you can learn more about my therapy services here.