An Autistic Woman Answers Google’s Top 3 Questions About Autistic People

Offering explanations, experiences and challenging stereotypes

The rainbow infinity symbol is often used to represent autism and neurodiversity. Image assembled by author in Canva — permission covered by Canva’s .

Hi, I’m Dana and I’m a late-diagnosed autistic woman.

After a lifetime spent questioning where my tendencies to be this way or that way came from, I finally got my answer last year — something that I never thought I’d get. I was prepared to have holes in my identity forever. But it turned out the universe had other plans.

At the age of 28, a new chapter in my life began. I wasn’t lost, broken or wrong. I was autistic. I didn’t need to be fundamentally fixed or changed. It was time to start working with my brain, rather than against it.

Perhaps for the first time in my entire existence.

It’s a funny feeling when you find out that the struggles and experiences that you thought were unique to just you actually have a name. Other people also feel exactly the same way you do in a variety of scenarios and go through similar things.

You are not alone, isolated on an island, surrounded by water where no one can ever reach you. There is a rich community of people out there who relate and understand. There are few things more validating than talking to other autistic people and feeling like you are…