Member-only story
Knowledge about How My Brain Works Changed My Whole World: A Late-Identified Autism Interview
This is the 52nd interview in my series Interviewing Late-Identified Autistics. Jennifer is a late-identified autistic. My questions are in bold and Jennifer’s responses follow in regular typeface.
What name and pronouns do you use?
Jennifer Alumbaugh, MS — she/they
How old were you when you learned you were autistic?
42 years old; self-identified AuDHD
How has learning you are autistic impacted your life?
In October 2017, I founded my first business, A Space to Thrive, as a private therapy and consulting practice. This business did indeed thrive as I walked with hundreds of clients navigating healing through complex trauma.
In 2021, at 42 years old, I experienced my awakening to my Autistic-ADHD identity. Coming into this identity was the result of many conversations with clients exploring their various neurodivergences as well as years of study I had poured into trying to understand the neurolandscape of brains that have survived years, even decades of complex trauma. Though I was beginning to see connections to Autistic-ADHD identity in 2017, I did not realize this truth fully until 2020.