Slouching Toward Joy: My Best 6 Phases To An Actually Autistic Relief

“Maybe I’m Autistic. And Just MayBE, I’m not,” original digital illustration by author.

Hey, if you were just diagnosed autistic as an adult… or care about someone? Still on the fence yourself… maybe you’re autistic, maybe not?

You gotta wonder what’s going to happen next. So, let’s talk about it…

🚨Content note: brief mention of suicidality, profanity, opinionated…

I got diagnosed at 63. Old AND autistic… Talk about problems with change.

I went through 6 phases. But it was all one… long… surreal… roller coaster ride. Ups. Downs. Sideways…

Now, I’m an analytical, self-reflective kinda guy. So I took notes. Then organized them. I worked with the traditional “6 stages”… but more of a “Relief” than “Grief” model.

Original illustration by author. All creative commons rights reserved. Use for any non-commercial purpose.

The 6 Phases from My Late Diagnosis to Autistic Joy

1. Disbelief. Waves of “That’s-Me-That’s-Not-Me.” A year or two.
   I needed reassurance. Read as much as I could. Some brief counseling ended my doubt. But it took a year or two.
2. Blame. Myself. And everybody else in my life.
   I needed to be angry. I’d been living in a dream state…