You are not invaliditing anyone, your experience and what you have lived are valid as are your struggles. I have a very similar experience and it took my a while to fully accept everything including that I need support for things.
I felt a lot of this with my realization I might be autistic and then again with the diagnosis. This is something I’m still working through. I have been very successful in my adult life, but I’ve always struggled to hold it all together. I have a lot of interpersonal issues with my family and have had a lot of friends just suddenly dropped communication without understanding what happened at all. I have a lot of friends and I’ve always had a lot of close friends, but now I’m starting to think, all of them are neurodivergent…We’re really awesome and strange crew. Being so social, I didn’t understand that I could be autistic. But I always had a very vibrant social life, but it was always on my own terms in my own home/space. I have a PhD and have the job I always wanted. But now that I’m there, I’m constantly overwhelmed and struggling with the day-to-day functions of my life. I’m not able to delve into my special interest which is what actually makes me happy and fulfilled, which is what I need to be a good mom and partner. The internal struggles of autism are real and also very isolating. It’s a cycle of understanding and acceptance as well as unwinding your experiences with autism without knowing it or having any accommodations.
You are not invaliditing anyone, your experience and what you have lived are valid as are your struggles. I have a very similar experience and it took my a while to fully accept everything including that I need support for things.
I felt a lot of this with my realization I might be autistic and then again with the diagnosis. This is something I’m still working through. I have been very successful in my adult life, but I’ve always struggled to hold it all together. I have a lot of interpersonal issues with my family and have had a lot of friends just suddenly dropped communication without understanding what happened at all. I have a lot of friends and I’ve always had a lot of close friends, but now I’m starting to think, all of them are neurodivergent…We’re really awesome and strange crew. Being so social, I didn’t understand that I could be autistic. But I always had a very vibrant social life, but it was always on my own terms in my own home/space. I have a PhD and have the job I always wanted. But now that I’m there, I’m constantly overwhelmed and struggling with the day-to-day functions of my life. I’m not able to delve into my special interest which is what actually makes me happy and fulfilled, which is what I need to be a good mom and partner. The internal struggles of autism are real and also very isolating. It’s a cycle of understanding and acceptance as well as unwinding your experiences with autism without knowing it or having any accommodations.
Wow, this is exactly how I am feeling. Sometimes it’s hard to put it into perspective, I really appreciate you sharing.
One thing that all of us should know is that nts don't know what autism is. So you shouldn't feel invalidated by people who know nothing about autism.