When parenting my little boy, and he got his Autism diagnosis, people would comment on how I understood him before anyone else, and what a bond we had. I came to see that this was because I shared more than just the bond of father to son, but that I had trodden the same path before him. This is the case with many parents of Autistic children. In previous generations, the stigma and shame associated with Autism meant that people denied anything to do with it. And so, people went through life with added stresses and struggles, and no support for them. But more importantly, Autistic adults that are only now being late diagnosed, are realising, (as I did), that they have missed out on finding others who can relate to them. Now, in the age of the internet, it is possible to connect with others, when previously this was not so. It is this ease of connection, that has enabled Autistic people to find each other and form the Autistic community. To advocate for our selves and each other. To find neuro-kinship together. And to finally gain some measure of peace in the fact that we have a community where we are understood, accepted, valued, and that we are not alone.
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