Late Diagnosis Round-Up

Historically, #neurodivergent conditions have been poorly understood, stereotyped and seen through a lens of deficits.?People who didn’t fit the standard mold due to race, gender or class would often be overlooked from diagnosis, misdiagnosed with something else, or be simply unable to access the diagnostic process at all.?As understanding of neurodiversity improves and the tools for self-exploration become more accessible, more and more people who were not diagnosed in childhood are discovering their #neurodivergence and finding self-understanding, confidence and community.?

This month, we explored the theme of later-in-life diagnosis and self-diagnosis among neurodivergent people.?We shared articles – both our own and those submitted by our members, and hosted two successful events.?One in-person panel and networking event for our individual members, sponsored by Aviva , and one virtual panel event for our corporate members.?

It’s been a fantastic month for us, and I have been yet again blown away by the warmth and desire to share and connect that our community has shown.?

I’d like to share once more the articles and events below and invite you to read and enjoy these, if you haven’t already had the chance to do so.?

Late Diagnosis Month by GAIN?

Always a Swan - The story of my late Autism and Dyspraxia diagnosis?

by Francesca Alcock, Contracts Specialist at AJ Gallagher?

?Understanding Autism - The story of my late diagnosis at 51?

by Lars Backstrom , IT-consultant with Auticon?

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Late Diagnosis - When a Stereotypical Presentation Still Gets Overlooked?

by Vic M. , General Manager at GAIN?

A Personal Neurodiversity Story: Unleashing the Talent of a Brain Wired Differently?

By Tommaso Davi , Founder of Neuro-Sive?

Meet the Panellists for GAIN’s Late Diagnosis Panels?

Alicja ('Aleetsya') Nocon Nocon posted about her experiences as part of the panel for our individual and corporate member events on the topic of late diagnosis, and shared some insights here and here.?

Dr Vina [Stavroula] Theodorakopoulou FRSA shared some keen insights into the messages she took from her time as a panellist at our late diagnosis events, as well. You can read her post on the topic here.?

At the same time that we were sharing our themed events and articles, the wider neurodiversity community was also continuing the conversation on late diagnosis and self diagnosis.?There have been many insightful and interesting articles and posts throughout the month, and some useful resources we found late last year.?We couldn’t possibly share them all, but I have collated a selection of highlights below.?

Seen Elsewhere!?

• Lara Schaeffer of Exceptional has set up a LinkedIn group for late-identified and suspecting autistics, which you can find here.?
• Ellie Middleton shared 5 signs she was autistic, which were overlooked when she was a teenager.?
• Sofia Day of Neurodiversity in Business (NiB) - the Neurodiversity Charity published an article in NIB Pulse on the topic of late diagnosis.?

If you’re not already familiar with it, Toni B’s podcast series Autistic at 40 shares the journey of self-understanding that comes with discovering one’s neurodivergence later in life.?

The Times published two articles on the topic of late diagnosis.?One, “Did ADHD Hold me Back” explores later-in-life ADHD diagnosis.?The other “I Felt Like a Dunce for 29 Years” responds to an earlier article by Dominic Lawson, who caused controversy when trying to lay out groundwork to dismiss the validity of the rise in later-in-life diagnosis.?

Last week, NIB put out a call for contributions towards a planned article on late diagnosis.?You can learn more about this and find the link to submit your contributions on Dan Harris FRSA LinkedIn post on the topic.?

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That’s it for this month’s theme!?We’ll be starting this week on our next theme on Self-Advocacy in the Workplace for February/March.?Expect to see more articles, more events and more content from us on the topic.?And, for the month after, we’ll soon be sharing news about our Executive Functioning theme for March/April.?

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While we’ll be shifting our focus to the next topic, we still want to hear from you!?

• What have your experiences been as a late-diagnosed or self-diagnosed neurodivergent person??
• Have you seen other articles or found resources that have helped you??
• Did you attend our events and want to share your experience??

Tell us in the comments.