When I first realized I was autistic, it felt like I was charting a new path, uncharted territory, entering "no-mans-land".
When the more I interacted with other late-diagnosed individuals, the more of my experiences that I thought were weird and unique to me such as:
organizing the food on your plate into sections so incompatible textures don't touch and also each mouthful can have the appropriate proportion of each type of food to balance the flavors
or constantly looping your fingers in your backpack or pockets since you don't know what to do with your hands when you walk, and T-rex hands are perceived as odd
or finding sudden interruptions or changes to routine without warning distressing, even when you like the end result.
were actually shared experiences with others. I was not the only like me! I was searching everywhere for answers. I realized I was not the first person to ask questions. One thing reddit taught me (and there are many) is for most of my questions I am usually not the first person to wonder something-- such as what is the difference between a panic attack and a meltdown, or if I am creating a cozy space/hiding space under my bed, do I need to put bed risers on just the four legs, or all the posts (the answer was all).
At times ASD can be isolating, and it can feel like you are the first or only person built this way, but there are millions of people around the world, who have had the same questions, similar experiences.
When I first diagnosed, multiple times I thought, I really wish there was a manual for this.
Turns out there is.
While our Lived Experience section has linked several books about Autism by autistic authors, there is also an info packet-- a manual of sorts. Reframing Autism (an organization that focuses on advocacy, education and supporting autistic people) has created a resource Welcome Pack. And it is available for free (my second favorite number, after pi )
A one hundred and ninety-two page resource walking through common issues we all go through. Covering topics such as discovering you are autistic, masking, self-acceptance. There is even a workbook!
I am going to link it right here.
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