11/03/2026
Autistic.
Autism Spectrum.
These days we are finding more and more people who are Autistic.
Why? Is it because there are more of us now? Possibly. There are a huge number of Autistic adults reproducing, after all.
Is it because we have gotten better at recognising Autistic people of all presentations? Likely. Before, diagnosing professionals were only ever looking for one very particular presentation of Autism. If you didn’t fit that presentation then you didn’t get diagnosed.
These days we know more. We know that Autistic people can present in so many different ways. You aren’t going to find two Autistic people who are exactly the same- just as you aren’t going to find ANY two people in the world who are exactly the same ANYWHERE.
I don’t think that’s difficult to grasp, and I’m tired of people demanding sameness from us.
More and more adults are recognising that they are autistic later in life. They often come to this realisation after struggling for a really long time. We struggle, we search, we reflect, we learn, and many of us find community. Many of us find acceptance, understanding, the vocab we need to explain our experiences. Many of us find validation, inclusion, authentic relationships, and pride- when all those things have been missing for a lifetime.
We don’t usually come out with funding. We don’t get additional supports. We don’t even get understanding or empathy a lot of the time.
We aren’t taking anything from anyone. We are only finding ourselves.
I don’t think that’s problematic.
And to those who might say that the autism spectrum is now too wide to be clinically useful, I say this:
We aren’t clinical products.
We aren’t case studies.
We aren’t hypotheses.
We aren’t data.
We are human.
We are living this life.
And for many of us, finally recognising that we are Autistic was life-changing. It was the moment we stopped wondering why, stopped hating ourselves, and started healing.
If I don’t meet your expectations of what an autistic person looks like, I don’t really care. I might have before. But my community has helped me develop self-acceptance, self-worth, and strong Autistic pride.
If you have found acceptance here, I’m extremely glad.
I’m sorry if anyone has made you feel invalid or unwelcome.
Titanic reference-
There is plenty of room on the floating door.
None of us deserve to sink.
Em 🌈
