So a few weeks ago I got invited to write an essay about my Autism journey for the Public Neurodiversity Support Center. It’s an online resource for Neurodivergent (ND) people (and their loved ones) to educate themselves.
The topic of my essay is about a perspective that often isn’t heard in ND/Autistic circles: the Black/Immigrant/Muslim one. Okay, that’s several perspectives, but the point is we only ever hear from a white Autistic/ND viewpoint.
There’s a lot we can learn from that viewpoint, but there’s also a lot that’s missing. Our cultural backgrounds and subject positions as perpetual Others in this country/world are rarely taken into consideration when white Autistics/ND’s speak.
That’s why I felt it was important I write about my Autistic journey — from first clues to self diagnosis to clinical diagnosis. Writing advice I’ve always gotten was there are many people who can write a better story than you, but no one can write YOUR story better than YOU.
In writing about my story, I’m also writing the story of all the other potentially Neurodivergent or Autistic adults in my various communities.
I’m a grown ass man and it never occurred to me that I’m Autistic until another Autistic person said HEY YOU’RE AUTISTIC BRO. I hope this essay helps you the same way my friend did when she gave me the biggest clue of my life.
So without further ado, I present to you: The Undiagnosed Autistic Somali Experience. Please share it far and wide!
Much love to Mykola Bilokonsky for hosting this piece on his platform (and for paying me to do it, too). Follow him on Twitter (@mykola) to learn a lot more about Autism.
