Inspired by @AspieHuman. I will make my own thread of being #actuallyautistic and that's OK. (Note: I did not know I am autistic until 25.) 1/
In elementary school in the Hong Kong, I was quiet. I didn't quite fit in with my classmates in an all-boys elementary school. However, I received quite a bit of hazing because of my arts and crafts skills. 2/
In middle school in the USA, it was my first regular exposure to girls in 6 years. There were 2 girls that I liked when I was with them in GATE (short for Gifted and Talented Education program) class. However, my shyness + lack of confidence in English held me back. 3/
In high school, I was lucky that I didn't get bullied much because I was around students in honors and AP classes. It was the first time I felt I blended in... since many of them have aspirations to go to 4-year colleges. 4/
In undergrad, I struggled with making friends. I didn't really get along with anybody in my small major department. Also, the fact that I had different people every class did not help things in terms of finding a consistent friend. 5/
I was unemployed for a year or so before I decided to take on pre-req's. I was focused on getting pre-req's done for the most part. The only time I made such an effort was in my final class because I knew many of them would be my classmates in OT school. 6/
In OT school, it was truly the first time I felt like I was in a loving family. It's a competitive environment academically... which was not a surprise because it was grad school. But, I felt that many of my classmates were genuine in pulling for me to succeed too. 7/
Examples of this point-
1. I struggled all the time in my first semester. I was down on myself constantly. My classmates encouraged me to keep fighting. When I passed both of the classes that mattered, they were happy that I got to continue be part of their journey. 8/
1. I struggled all the time in my first semester. I was down on myself constantly. My classmates encouraged me to keep fighting. When I passed both of the classes that mattered, they were happy that I got to continue be part of their journey. 8/
2. When I found out I was #actuallyautistic and that I had some setbacks with my clinical rotations, many of them had empathy for me. When I eventually got my practice license, they were proud of my resilience (I know some people hate that word, but it applies here.). 9/
3. As my career is thriving, some of my classmates who followed me more closely than others on social media have said that I am quite a motivating story for them to use to speak to their pediatric patients' families... especially in autism. 10/
Even outside of my OT school cohort, I am able to find groups of people who value me both as a friend and a colleague. That led to me being an influencer in my profession today. 11/
My own take home point- Sometimes it may take #actuallyautistic folks a good portion of their lives to find their tribes, but once they do, they can blossom. And who knows... they maybe at least just as successful as their #allistic counterparts. 12/
