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Knowledge about How My Brain Works Changed My Whole World: A Late-Identified Autism Interview

Jackie Schuld
6 min readMay 31, 2023

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

Jennifer

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.

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Jackie Schuld
Jackie Schuld

Written by Jackie Schuld

I'm an expressive arts therapist who specializes in late-identified autism/ADHD. I'm also an autistic & ADHDer who loves to write and create art.

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