“How did your family react?”
My close family could see how happy I was to finally understand myself, and they celebrated that with me. But they also cautioned me against sharing my excitement too widely, because they didn’t want me to be hurt by negative stereotypes that people have about autism. So I decided that I would only bring it up when there’s enough time to explain fully and answer questions.
Other family members were skeptical at first about the things that I say are hard for me, because they remember me acting more extroverted as a kid. That caused me to reflect on what was different about my life as a child, and I’ve given a lot of thought to how my surrounding environment impacts my ability to thrive and be myself. I’ll write more about that in future posts!