Exploring Late-diagnosed Autism

Disability Rap

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and today we’re honoring that by spending the show talking about autism and specifically late-diagnosed autism. Autism is a broad umbrella for describing how some people think, feel, and act differently from what is considered typical or normal. We did a show in January on neurodivergence. Autism is a form of neurodivergence, and autism is a disability.

Autism manifests in each person differently, but common experiences of autistic people are finding socializing challenging and/or tiring, getting overwhelmed in loud or busy spaces, having intense interests that you keep coming back to, and preferring order and routine. Some people use repeated motions or actions to calm down their nervous system and/or express joy and happiness. Some autistic people hide - or mask - their emotions in order to fit in socially. This can sometimes lead to mental illness.

For more on all of this, we are joined by Kristen Hovet, the founder and creator of The Other Autism podcast. Kristen was diagnosed with autism in her 30s. Before that, she was labeled shy, gifted, intense, sensitive, reserved, but never autistic. This, unfortunately, is a common experience, especially for women and those assigned female at birth. We’ll explore why this is and what factors lead to this underdiagnosis later in the show.

Kristen Hovet has a Master’s Degree in Health Studies from Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. She’s currently a Research Communications Specialist at the British Colombia Children's Hospital Research Institute in Vancouver.