Autism: What if I had been Diagnosed Earlier?
Hey!
I hope you are well! I've been SUPER busy with my new job so apologies if I've been a bit quiet online recently. In the search for coping mechanisms to help me manage my own well being and working full-time I've been dive back into the online autistic community and it's raised a question for myself: what if I had been diagnosed earlier? That's what I want to talk about today.
One of the loudest arguments I hear for the hesitation around diagnosing young people as autistic is that it places a label on them too early in life. As someone who was diagnosed a bit later than you'd normally expect I see serious issues with this argument. As an undiagnosed autistic person I spent years having labels put on me; weird, socially awkward, annoying, basically every label but the correct one; autistic. All these incorrect labels were the truly detrimental ones, the ones that knocked my confidence. The correct diagnosis of autism isn't just a label, it's understanding why you are who you are and it's access to support, it's often the first step in rebuilding confidence in who you truly are. This privilege of a diagnosis is one that many AFAB (assigned female at birth) individuals on the spectrum don't get to have and for this reason we are often left feeling confused, unsupported and with extremely low self-confidence.
For me I think the biggest difference for me would be a social one. I can't help but look at Limpsfield Grange, the UK's only school specifically for autistic girls, and wish I would of had access to something similar, a school full of people who would of understood me and not judged me for my quirks. Even a simple diagnosis may have better equipped my own teachers to protect me from bullying and social isolation in school and might have given me access to autism specific social circles and support outside of the classroom. I might not have spent years struggling to try and make my peers accept me, instead I could have used that effort to look for spaces where I was already understood and accepted.
I also expect an earlier diagnosis would have helped those around me to better support me with the high levels of anxiety and stress I've struggled with from a young age. At school I could of had greater support with executive functioning and stress management, as well as my confidence and coping with my anxiety around getting things wrong. Things could of been put in place to help minimize the stress of getting through the sensory, social and academic stress of the school day. Outside of the classroom my need for routine, structure and sensory adjustments may have been better understood. This isn't to say that those around me didn't try their best, just that with the additional knowledge I could have been given additional support.
I wouldn't change how my diagnosis came about because my life experiences have led me to where I am today. However, these are some of the reasons I believe we need to fight for the understanding and diagnosis of autism in girls, so everyone can have this self-understanding and support.
Look after yourself <3
See you later Alligator!
Freya x
I hope you are well! I've been SUPER busy with my new job so apologies if I've been a bit quiet online recently. In the search for coping mechanisms to help me manage my own well being and working full-time I've been dive back into the online autistic community and it's raised a question for myself: what if I had been diagnosed earlier? That's what I want to talk about today.
One of the loudest arguments I hear for the hesitation around diagnosing young people as autistic is that it places a label on them too early in life. As someone who was diagnosed a bit later than you'd normally expect I see serious issues with this argument. As an undiagnosed autistic person I spent years having labels put on me; weird, socially awkward, annoying, basically every label but the correct one; autistic. All these incorrect labels were the truly detrimental ones, the ones that knocked my confidence. The correct diagnosis of autism isn't just a label, it's understanding why you are who you are and it's access to support, it's often the first step in rebuilding confidence in who you truly are. This privilege of a diagnosis is one that many AFAB (assigned female at birth) individuals on the spectrum don't get to have and for this reason we are often left feeling confused, unsupported and with extremely low self-confidence.
For me I think the biggest difference for me would be a social one. I can't help but look at Limpsfield Grange, the UK's only school specifically for autistic girls, and wish I would of had access to something similar, a school full of people who would of understood me and not judged me for my quirks. Even a simple diagnosis may have better equipped my own teachers to protect me from bullying and social isolation in school and might have given me access to autism specific social circles and support outside of the classroom. I might not have spent years struggling to try and make my peers accept me, instead I could have used that effort to look for spaces where I was already understood and accepted.
(A photo of younger Freya in their own little world on a swing 😀)
I also expect an earlier diagnosis would have helped those around me to better support me with the high levels of anxiety and stress I've struggled with from a young age. At school I could of had greater support with executive functioning and stress management, as well as my confidence and coping with my anxiety around getting things wrong. Things could of been put in place to help minimize the stress of getting through the sensory, social and academic stress of the school day. Outside of the classroom my need for routine, structure and sensory adjustments may have been better understood. This isn't to say that those around me didn't try their best, just that with the additional knowledge I could have been given additional support.
I wouldn't change how my diagnosis came about because my life experiences have led me to where I am today. However, these are some of the reasons I believe we need to fight for the understanding and diagnosis of autism in girls, so everyone can have this self-understanding and support.
Look after yourself <3
See you later Alligator!
Freya x
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