Lou talks about his experiences
The bloggening
Hello, My name is Louis. I am 30 years old and autistic with suspicion of ADHD (awaiting referral). I find my story bizarre because growing up, I received support and special education; however, I was misdiagnosed, so my needs weren't fully met. It was only in my early 20s when I finally received the right diagnosis of autism. Things finally clicked; stuff that happened in my childhood that I couldn’t explain finally made sense. I wasn’t misbehaving; I wasn’t struggling to cope; I was just autistic and dealing with it on my own. I actually never heard the word “autism” until I was in a special needs high school. My classmates were autistic, and that's when I started to question it for myself.
After high school I tried to get a degree in computer science but was unsuccessful due to the stress and my mental health taking a skydive. I gave up on myself and couldn’t accept I had these conditions they said I had; I was still wrongfully diagnosed at this stage, so in my perspective, I was just weird and broken.
Despite wanting to give in and sit in my flat for the rest of my life, my family never gave up on me. They would constantly pick me up and keep me going no matter what happened.
It was in my early 20s when my dad took me to the clinic for my assessment. I remember coming out crying, and my dad just said, “It’s nothing we didn’t know before”, which made me realise I’ve finally been correctly diagnosed.
That was the previous chapter of my life, and the new chapter began this year in 2024. This year, I turned 30 and finally joined in with AWP’s activities. I always found it hard to socialise, but when I went to their breakfast club, they welcomed me with open arms and understood me even after just meeting me. After spending years trying to mask myself for everyone to accept me, I got to be myself in front of these people; it was incredibly liberating. Based on my experience, I now work for AWP as an expert. I am motivated by my difficult times to ensure no one finds themselves being misdiagnosed or misunderstood and to provide doctors see the people behind the autism and learning disabilities.
This blog post is for my dad, who is sadly no longer here but who got me to this point and still keeps me going through memories and his wise words. Thanks, Dad.
