05/04/2026
For years, I felt like something didnāt quite fit- but I couldnāt name it. I have a psychology degree, Iām a teacher, Iām confident, social and on the outside, I ālook fineā so I was missed. Weāre taught stereotypes: autistic people donāt make eye contact, donāt socialise, donāt āappearā like me so I didnāt even recognise it in myself. Behind the scenes, itās different. The exhaustion after socialising, the mental āformulasā to understand every conversation, taking things literally, overstimulation that leads to shutdowns, needing routines, lists, predictability just to function. Years of struggling with my mental health, not knowing why. It took a close friend to finally say āhave you ever consideredā¦?ā and suddenly- everything made sense.
Autism isnāt a personality quirk. Itās not āeveryone is a little bit on the spectrum.ā It can be deeply disabling- especially when paired with ADHD traits and even more so when itās missed. When your needs arenāt understood, they donāt disappear. They turn into burnout, trauma and years of feeling broken. I was missed because I was āgoodā, because I masked, because I looked ānormal.ā Now, Iām finally being seen and finally validated. For the first time, Iām learning to meet my needs- instead of trying to change who I am. Autism doesnāt discriminate and it doesnāt have one look š©·
