sometimes people ask when/why i started thinking i was (probably) autistic (i put (probably) in front always because i’m not nhs diagnosed and don’t yet feel comfortable self diagnosing) and the truth is, it was danny! i’ve spoken to lots of late diagnosed women in their 20s and 30s and it’s almost always their partner who bought it up with them in the first place. when we’ve spent a lifetime existing in our brains we often don’t realise they’re drastically different from anyone else’s. we might feel a bit odd or left out but assume it’s just our weird personalities 👀 and then we meet a partner we feel totally and completely comfortable, safe and stable around, and the unmasking begins. danny always thought i was really strange 🤣 but it was only when we started learning about autism via remy’s journey that he put two and two together and suggested i might also be autistic. it wasn’t looking at a few vague relatable tiktoks (which is what people seem to think self diagnosing is) it was hours and days and weeks of immersing ourselves in research about autistic people and looking at myself and my life and past experiences and it made immediate sense. i honestly couldn’t believe i’d not realised it sooner. i’ve not started my assessment journey yet which is why i don’t talk about it much and tend to refer to myself as neurodivergent or (probably) autistic even though it’s quite clear i am. the autistic joy in my bio refers to remy (see highlight for said joy it’s very cute). after the whole pregnancy fiasco five years ago i find it hard to trust doctors and don’t feel comfortable going to see them tbh but i’m looking at other options now - a diagnosis would purely be for validity at this point as it won’t help in any other way, which is also why i’m in no rush for it 😛 anyway hope that answers a FAQ! i’ll do a post soon about traits i noticed in myself and another about traits we noticed in a 2 year old remy but if there’s anything else you think will be helpful let me know 😚