What is your autism story? Let's share!

@Courtney_J Hi, I was actually diagnosed in my late teens/early adult years when I went off to college. I'd always had some difficulty connecting with people and interpreting social situations and I'd had anxiety since my teens, but it really all kicked off when I left home. I think being in alone in a setting with people my age with all the social pressures and expectations and all the sensory stimulation was just too much for me and I had a major panic/anxiety episode and had to take a semester off of school. I was eventually diagnosed with high-functioning autism and anxiety and everything from growing up kind of clicked. I had a hard time accepting it at first, but with time I've begun to love that side of myself because it's what makes me who I am. All of my quirks and habits.

I was diagnosed with autism when I was 4 years old, but I’m a normal person despite the mild autistic disability

I’m Rhys. I was diagnosed at the age of two years and three months. I had been showing many symptoms and remained nonverbal until the age of three.

I actually do well on the Internet, but maybe that’s because I don’t rely on verbal and visual cues for comprehension. When I talk to people in real life, though, they expect me to act like non-autistic people, and even my brother says even he forgets not to assume.