I think one of the reasons why having the label ‘autistic’ to describe myself is how much more normal it makes me feel (ironically.) Before being diagnosed, it’s not like I really thought I was a typical person, I thought I was weird in some way but I wasn’t really sure what or how to define that. It made me feel different from anyone in the world. I knew that autism existed, but with the limited view I had of it I didn’t realize it could describe me.
I felt like my own special kind of broken, and that was very lonely, and it made my struggles feel like a moral failing. It made me fear there was no chance or hope for me, nothing that could potentially provide me support, as approaches intended for NTs didn’t work well, and I assumed anything for NDs simply wouldn’t apply to me.
But that changed- I realized there was a name for what I was feeling, other people with the same experiences I had thought were so alien, coping mechanisms and strategies to get through that tailored for someone who thought like me.
Obviously not all autistic people are the same. It’s a very broad, diverse spectrum. But the shared experiences among us are so important. Maybe a grim way to put it would be ‘misery loves company’. But I think it’s more hopeful than that.