I was never told that I was autistic. Once I started being homeschooled for middle school, I came across a paper with my official diagnosis. Immentadiatelty. all the dots connected, " No wonder, it was so hard for me to make friends and do math." It makes sense now. Everything is clear. I told my mother what I discovered and we had a long conversation after that. Acceptance of my disability was always hard since I was tough on myself. Being patient with myself is a daily struggle. I need to be reminded that I must first love myself before giving love to others.

@A MyAutismTeam Member, thank you so much for that insight. The journey of discovery is still unfolding for my kid, but knowing more about what makes him special has been 100% positive. He constantly surprises me with his level of self-awareness and his desire to know more.

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A MyAutis...

We just sat him down and explained that his brain worked a little different. Luckily my husband is autistic and I have ADHD so with both diagnosis we were able to tell him that his brain works like ours.

He was with for the results of his testing. He didn’t really understand what that meant. I told him it just means you learn and see the world differently from others. And that every one is different.
He is very proud of his diagnosis and will tell everyone he meets lol

Hi Rich & welcome:) For my 20 year old we hadn’t told her & I had a school psychologist ask me why we hadn’t yet & I said I just didn’t want her to be hurt by it. He said she’s so smart that she’ll probably come to you & he was right, she did! For my 9 year old I read her a book that her therapist had loaned me, it’s all about autism & explaining it in a positive way.
We talked about it for some time & she seemed good with it. But she has brought it up from time to time in a negative light since then. I just continue to tell her what extraordinary gifts she has & how incredibly loved she is.
But that we all have struggles, nobody gets away free & clear:)