THE DIAGNOSIS DEN
The Diagnosis Den is packed with articles about that moment when we finally find out that we are members of the neurodivergent community. Below you will find the current issue's articles and then after that, our archive. To read the full editions of THE MAG EXTRA and its sister publications, use this link.
The Diagnosis Den - Edition Three
Not a day goes by without me thinking about my diagnosis. Whether it be the moment my first being autistic was mentioned to me to the assessment that led to my diagnosis. Here's some more articles about being diagnosed. Welcome to one of the most important sections of THE MAG.
Reviewing the Situation by Steve Ashfield
Apologies to Lionel Bart for taking the title of his song from ‘Oliver!’ but it fits this article perfectly even though I’m more Scrooge than Fagin. Ever since I was diagnosed with autism and then ADHD I’ve been continually looking back at my life and trying to make more sense of it.
Having read many online posts and books in recent months, I know that this isn’t something that just I do. Many members of our community - especially those given a late diagnosis - can’t help looking back and reviewing the situation.
It still surprises me (and sometimes angers me) that no one ever said those two magic words ‘you’re autistic’ to me. I know that growing up in the 60s and 70s, there wasn’t anywhere near the attention paid to autism and ADHD as there is now in the 2020s. All that time I struggled at school never led to anyone suggesting that I even be screened for autism, let alone actually be diagnosed with it.
Then there’s dyspraxia which is something it’s so obvious that I have. That really has led me to review my past. For example, the fact that I can’t tie my shoelaces up properly. I’ve tried so hard and watched loads of YouTube instruction videos, but I just can’t do it. I always thought there was some kind of mental block and then I started reading about dyspraxia and the poster had a photo of a young girl struggling to tie up her shoelaces. Boy did that make me think!
I did a bit more research and just couldn’t stop reviewing the situation. Not being able to throw a ball properly, not being able to ride a bike without crashing to the pavement and then there’s my problem with bottle openers.
At one time I was the worst barperson in the world. I just couldn’t use the bottle opener they had. It became a running joke as guests bought a bottle of beer for me to try and open. I did manage to do it once, but broke the bottle opener. Eventually, I found one I could use. I went into a real meltdown when that went missing one afternoon.
It’s just moments like that which have always puzzled me. I used to go onto computer courses and always seemed to finish the task first. Then I’d break the printer. Why in my life have I been so good at some tasks, but absolutely hopeless at others?
At school I was top of the class at mental arithmetic. However, then they started teaching us about rotations and translations and asked me to draw graphs leading to my grades going downhill.
It’s always been noticeable that I have become obsessed with certain topics. Sport for example, statistics, the 1970s (more about that later in this edition), comics and of course Christmas. Teachers used to praise me for my ability to drone on about all the champions in boxing and the latest cricket averages. None of them ever considered it might just be an autistic person having a hyperfixation.
It’s always been noticeable that I have become obsessed with certain topics. Sport for example, statistics, the 1970s (more about that later in this edition), comics and of course Christmas. Teachers used to praise me for my ability to drone on about all the champions in boxing and the latest cricket averages. None of them ever considered it might just be an autistic person having a hyperfixation.
It’s the same with my ADHD because that now seems so obvious to me. Work is so difficult because I just can’t fully concentrate on the task in hand. While I’ve been writing this article, I’ve stopped several times to check emails, look at the stats for this blog and watch WWE on my other laptop. I wouldn’t last long in an office, that's for sure.
I can’t help wondering what my life would have been like if someone had told me of my neurodivergency way back in my past.
As you will read in our mental health special due out at the end of September, I didn’t speak to anyone about that subject until I was 34. Years of struggling with my mental health, but it could have been so different if someone had told me I had autism, ADHD and dyspraxia. I look now at the help that people can receive whether it be from support/social groups or charities.
How would my life have been if I’d had access to those in the past. They have given me great help since my diagnosis and I’m truly grateful for that. In a way it’s like the situation that older members of the LGBTQ+ community face. They look back at growing up perhaps even when being homosexual in this country wasn’t legal. Then they look at the opportunities members of the community have in 2026 and can’t help being jealous of them.
I can't change anything can I? I'll have to live with the fact I had to wait until I was nearly 65 before someone did tell me I was autistic and a few more weeks to find out about my ADHD.
Wasted years to be honest, even the book I had published about my struggles with an indwelling catheter failed to mention that I went through all of that without knowing I was autistic. To think, if it hadn't been for my heart attack last year and subsequently seeing a mental health practitioner who became the first person to ever mention autism to me, my life would be so different. There certainly wouldn't be THE MAG that is for sure.
The Women's Late Diagnosis Club by Emma Charlton
We’ll be having plenty of coverage in ‘The Diagnosis Den’ this and next month. This is a new book from Emma Charlton and as you can guess from its title, the author is another person who had to wait a fair while to be diagnosed.
It ties in so well with my ‘Reviewing the Situation’ article you’ve just been reading, but in a lot more depth. Emma wasn’t diagnosed with autism until her early fifties and just as I’ve experienced, there’s been a lot of reflection since that diagnosis.
Emma tells how so much time had previously been spent struggling to fit in and finding it harder to cope with life than those around her. Just why was that the case? Well, her autism diagnosis has supplied plenty of answers. Those who aren’t autistic simply don’t realise how dramatic a diagnosis can be for those who receive it.
Her opinion was that she was “simply too sensitive, too anxious, too intense or somehow getting life wrong.” Her autism diagnosis has seen her finally get some answers. Her book contains heartfelt stories and practical insights. There’s also a fair share of profound realisation too, Emma writes about what a late diagnosis means to a person and how it gives you a different perspective of what has happened in the past.
Beginning to understand her life now means that it’s possible “to build a life that truly fits - one with less overwhelm, greater self-compassion and more room to simply be yourself.”
We’ll be reviewing this book in our next edition. There will also be an interview with Emma herself. Her book can be purchased/ordered at Waterstones and other online sites.
BBC documentary seeking autistic individuals with recent diagnosis
Emma Parsons is a TV Producer who is looking for people to appear in a BBC documentary about autism. Who can take part? Emma says: "We are looking for people who are happy to share their story of a recent diagnosis of autism after watching or reading something in the media about autism that made them think that sounds like me." If you are interested in this, please email her at emma.parsons.ext@bbc.co.uk.
Chloe Hughes Study
In our special mental health edition, I have an article that means a lot to me. It's about when we need the most help. Is it when we are first told that being autistic is a possibility or when the diagnosis finally comes along. Chloe Hughes tells us here about a study she is carrying out on the subject of autsm assessment.
"I am currently completing my Psychology of Education Master’s dissertation at the University of Manchester and I am looking for parents/carers of children who are currently waiting for an autism assessment or have been diagnosed in the past year to take part in my research.
The study explores parents’ experiences of their child’s emotions and emotion regulation during the waiting period, and how this may influence everyday life at home and in school.There are no right or wrong answers, and you do not need to have any specialist knowledge. Your experiences and perspectives are what matter.
The interview would involve a relaxed online conversation via Microsoft Teams and would take approximately 30-40 minutes. Everything shared would be treated confidentially and anonymised.
If you are interested in taking part, or would like to find out more information, please feel free to send me a private message on Facebook. I would be extremely grateful for any support in helping me reach families who may be interested.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for considering supporting my research.
Diagnosed with ADHD… now what? By Rachael Anne Small from Unmasking Together Sussex
Something I keep seeing over and over — adults finally getting their diagnosis and then being left thinking… “Okay… so what am I actually supposed to do now?” (This was definitely the case for me).
So I've created another little FREE guide. A starting point for making sense of late diagnosis, looking back with new eyes and working out what you might need next... Not 100 pages just time to browse over a cuppa
The Gift of Finding out Later By Benna McCartney
I got my diagnosis later in life, and if you'd told me beforehand what that would end up meaning to me, I don't think I'd have believed you. I thought it might explain a few things, but what it actually did was rearrange how I understood every single year that came before it.
The moment that sticks with me most isn't the appointment itself, it's what happened after. A kind of exhale I didn't know I'd been holding for decades. Because the story I'd been telling myself, quietly and relentlessly, was that I was completely broken. Too much, not enough, always slightly out of step with everyone else and never quite sure why.
Late diagnosis didn't hand me a diagnosis so much as it handed me permission to stop believing that story. Finally I wasn't broken, but was actually working with a different operating system, and nobody had ever handed me the manual.
Once that landed, everything else started to shift. I began to understand why certain environments left me wrung out while others left me buzzing with energy. Why some conversations felt like trying to translate a language I'd never been taught, while others felt like coming up for air. I started to see the patterns in my own life not as failures but as information, and information you can actually work with.
One of the biggest changes was learning to ask for what I need, out loud, without the apology built into the sentence. That sounds simple, but it really isn't. Years of masking teach you to anticipate everyone else's needs while quietly starving your own, and unlearning that takes real practice.
But once I started naming my needs plainly, life got a lot more workable. People generally respond well to clarity. It's the guessing games that wear everyone down.
Understanding my own wiring also gave me a much clearer view of everyone else's. I got better at reading the neurodivergent people in my life, at recognising when someone was masking, overwhelmed, or just wired differently to me rather than being difficult.
And I got better at understanding neurotypical people too, at seeing that a lot of what once felt like rejection or confusion was simply two different systems trying to communicate without a shared framework. That understanding did something I wasn't expecting - it calmed my nervous system. Less guessing, less bracing for impact, less running background threat detection on every interaction and more capacity to actually be present.
I'll also say this plainly, because I think it matters and it doesn't get talked about enough. A lot of late diagnosed people are carrying complex trauma alongside their neurodivergence, myself included.
Decades of being misread, mislabelled, and told that you're the problem will do that to a nervous system. CPTSD and late diagnosed neurodivergence often travel together, and untangling the two, working out what's wiring and what's wound, has been some of the most important work I've done. Neither one cancels the other out and both deserve care.
Twenty two years into coaching, this is the work I keep coming back to. It's why I've put together a new course - How to be Neurodivergent AND Happy, built specifically for people who are further along in figuring out their own wiring and want practical, grounded support with what comes next. Ten self paced modules, priced at a straightforward £35, no complicated tiers or hoops to jump through. It's the resource I wish someone had handed me on the way out of that first appointment.
The Archive
Lost & Now Found by Kate Laine-Toner and Suzi Payton (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
This excellent book takes a look at the situation that arises when a late diagnosis is received. Just how do you react to the news (especially if like myself you had no idea whatsoever of the possibility of being autistic) and how do you move forward.
The title of the book is an absolutely perfect one. As the publicity material says: “If you are feeling lost, this is the book for you.” It includes personal stories from both of the authors and others who didn’t get diagnosed until their thirties and beyond. We’ll have a full review of ‘Lost and Found’ in September.
This excellent book takes a look at the situation that arises when a late diagnosis is received. Just how do you react to the news (especially if like myself you had no idea whatsoever of the possibility of being autistic) and how do you move forward.
The title of the book is an absolutely perfect one. As the publicity material says: “If you are feeling lost, this is the book for you.” It includes personal stories from both of the authors and others who didn’t get diagnosed until their thirties and beyond. We’ll have a full review of ‘Lost and Found’ in September.
Quote...Unquote
As part of our ongoing look at diagnosis, we have quotes below from two sports stars and an actress about how they feel about their diagnosis.
Jenson Brooksby is a tennis professional and currently playing in the Winston Salem Open in the USA and had a good first round win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. He is autistic and was non-verbal to the age of four. He is open about his autism and spoke to Andrew Eichenholz for an interview on the ATP Tour website. Here are some of the best quotes.
“Life is about a lot more than just tennis. I believe that being transparent about autism is making me a more well-rounded person not only now, but for the rest of my life.”
“In Houston, a parent whose two kids are on the spectrum approached me and said they were able to look up to me and use me as an example, to aspire to keep going in their sport. Autism was no longer an excuse for them, or a reason to give up in the face of some extra challenges.”
Lucy Bronze has enjoyed tremendous success with the England women’s football team. In an interview with the BBC, Lucy spoke about her autism and ADHD diagnosis.
"It was something I always knew about in a way. My mum had spoken about it from a very young age and noticed things in me."
Has her diagnosis changed her? "It didn't change anything essentially, but it was a bit of an eye opener. I just learned more about myself, understood why in certain situations I saw things differently to other people or acted in a different way to other people.
Getting to sit down and actually speak through my traits and how it affects me, situations that make me feel good or bad, that was the thing that really clicked in my head and made me feel so much better."
Charley Webb is best known for her role in the soap ‘Emmerdale’ and also has both autism and ADHD. Her diagnosis has affected her life as a parent of three boys.
When appearing on Luke Hamnett’s podcast Live, Laugh, Luke, Charley says it is especially noticeable when it comes to looking after her three boys: "Sometimes when I get back and I've been away from them, I forget how loud they are. And it takes me so long to readjust. I'm really overstimulated cuz they're just so loud. "Noise is my biggest trigger. I can't bear it."
"I think my autism is definitely stronger than the ADHD side. I think it's definitely more autism. But then even that I think is mild and I think everyone has this idea of autism like it's just one thing and it's really not."
Life After the Diagnosis by Stephen Ashfield
Just like a bus, you wait ages for one to come along and all of a sudden two make an appearance. I had been seeking a diagnosis to explain the problems I have encountered in my life not for years but decades. Now I have them.
I knew there was something that was causing the way I behaved but really had no idea what it was. Then in the space of seven weeks I was diagnosed with autism and then just last week with ADHD.
It was around March of this year that for the very first time the possibility of my having autism was mentioned. I was a few months away from my 65th birthday and having my usual problems with anxiety. Having a heart attack in August 2025 had made life pretty difficult and I was still having to use a walking stick at that point. Boy did I hate that walking stick.
I went to see a mental health practitioner and never imagined how it would change my life. Never had I even considered autism to be the diagnosis that I was looking to receive. I had always been a sensitive person, pretty easy to upset, a bit of a loner and continually having some kind of mental health problem that I battled my way through.
An initial screening produced sufficiently high enough results to have me referred to Psychiatry UK via the NHS Right to Choose service to see if I did have autism. The wait to have that appointment was not a good one. I struggled to cope with what was happening and my mental health did take a downturn. Somehow I sorted myself out again and finally, the appointment that would change my life took place in May.
It began with my having to answer some rather lengthy forms. Many of the questions were about my childhood behaviour and that brought back some pretty difficult memories of how I used to struggle.
After completing those forms, they emailed back and I was offered an online interview for the following day. That was pretty tough too but the psychiatrist made me eventually feel a bit more comfortable than at the start of the interview. It ended with my being given an official diagnosis of autism.
So that was that, I was autistic, something that I had never previously thought about, not once. Immediately, I began to go online to find out more information about the subject. My voyage of discovery began and this has included looking for local services I could contact and joining Facebook groups.
The latter has proved to be very helpful indeed. I read about how other people with autism cope with their diagnosis and the problems that autism can create. Time after time, I have read about certain types of behaviour and thought 'wow I do that.' It has been the same with the books that I have read on the subject.
Some Facebook posts said that being diagnosed with autism doesn't actually change your life. I can't really agree with that because everything in my life seems to have changed since my diagnosis.
It was such a shock being told that I was autistic. I have been frustrated at the fact I have seen so many mental health workers in the past and no one until this year ever mentioned the possibility I may have autism. All those years without knowing, it really is frustrating. I guess being a child of the 1960s was an initial problem.
Just like dyslexia, no one was really talking about autism and ADHD those days. I was just the quiet, sensitive child who was good at writing and mental arithmetic but struggled in so many other aspects of my life.
ADHD was also mentioned and I went down the same route of an initial screening, being referred, answering the online questions and then the long interview and diagnosis. Having read about ADHD in the past few weeks, being diagnosed wasn't such a shock. It was fairly obvious to me that I had ADHD.
Over the past few weeks I have joined several groups and of course launched THE MAG. Everything has changed, especially the problem of loneliness that I have had for nearly all of the last decade. Everything is still a bit confusing and I'm learning more as every day goes by. I really am on a learning curve but one I wish I had started a long time ago not a couple of years before I get my pension.
How did your diagnosis affect you? If you want to write about it for THE MAG EXTRA, please contact me at mageditoruk@gmail.com.
As part of our ongoing look at diagnosis, we have quotes below from two sports stars and an actress about how they feel about their diagnosis.
Jenson Brooksby is a tennis professional and currently playing in the Winston Salem Open in the USA and had a good first round win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. He is autistic and was non-verbal to the age of four. He is open about his autism and spoke to Andrew Eichenholz for an interview on the ATP Tour website. Here are some of the best quotes.
“Life is about a lot more than just tennis. I believe that being transparent about autism is making me a more well-rounded person not only now, but for the rest of my life.”
“In Houston, a parent whose two kids are on the spectrum approached me and said they were able to look up to me and use me as an example, to aspire to keep going in their sport. Autism was no longer an excuse for them, or a reason to give up in the face of some extra challenges.”
Lucy Bronze has enjoyed tremendous success with the England women’s football team. In an interview with the BBC, Lucy spoke about her autism and ADHD diagnosis.
"It was something I always knew about in a way. My mum had spoken about it from a very young age and noticed things in me."
Has her diagnosis changed her? "It didn't change anything essentially, but it was a bit of an eye opener. I just learned more about myself, understood why in certain situations I saw things differently to other people or acted in a different way to other people.
Getting to sit down and actually speak through my traits and how it affects me, situations that make me feel good or bad, that was the thing that really clicked in my head and made me feel so much better."
Charley Webb is best known for her role in the soap ‘Emmerdale’ and also has both autism and ADHD. Her diagnosis has affected her life as a parent of three boys.
When appearing on Luke Hamnett’s podcast Live, Laugh, Luke, Charley says it is especially noticeable when it comes to looking after her three boys: "Sometimes when I get back and I've been away from them, I forget how loud they are. And it takes me so long to readjust. I'm really overstimulated cuz they're just so loud. "Noise is my biggest trigger. I can't bear it."
"I think my autism is definitely stronger than the ADHD side. I think it's definitely more autism. But then even that I think is mild and I think everyone has this idea of autism like it's just one thing and it's really not."
Life After the Diagnosis by Stephen Ashfield
Just like a bus, you wait ages for one to come along and all of a sudden two make an appearance. I had been seeking a diagnosis to explain the problems I have encountered in my life not for years but decades. Now I have them.
I knew there was something that was causing the way I behaved but really had no idea what it was. Then in the space of seven weeks I was diagnosed with autism and then just last week with ADHD.
It was around March of this year that for the very first time the possibility of my having autism was mentioned. I was a few months away from my 65th birthday and having my usual problems with anxiety. Having a heart attack in August 2025 had made life pretty difficult and I was still having to use a walking stick at that point. Boy did I hate that walking stick.
I went to see a mental health practitioner and never imagined how it would change my life. Never had I even considered autism to be the diagnosis that I was looking to receive. I had always been a sensitive person, pretty easy to upset, a bit of a loner and continually having some kind of mental health problem that I battled my way through.
An initial screening produced sufficiently high enough results to have me referred to Psychiatry UK via the NHS Right to Choose service to see if I did have autism. The wait to have that appointment was not a good one. I struggled to cope with what was happening and my mental health did take a downturn. Somehow I sorted myself out again and finally, the appointment that would change my life took place in May.
It began with my having to answer some rather lengthy forms. Many of the questions were about my childhood behaviour and that brought back some pretty difficult memories of how I used to struggle.
After completing those forms, they emailed back and I was offered an online interview for the following day. That was pretty tough too but the psychiatrist made me eventually feel a bit more comfortable than at the start of the interview. It ended with my being given an official diagnosis of autism.
So that was that, I was autistic, something that I had never previously thought about, not once. Immediately, I began to go online to find out more information about the subject. My voyage of discovery began and this has included looking for local services I could contact and joining Facebook groups.
The latter has proved to be very helpful indeed. I read about how other people with autism cope with their diagnosis and the problems that autism can create. Time after time, I have read about certain types of behaviour and thought 'wow I do that.' It has been the same with the books that I have read on the subject.
Some Facebook posts said that being diagnosed with autism doesn't actually change your life. I can't really agree with that because everything in my life seems to have changed since my diagnosis.
It was such a shock being told that I was autistic. I have been frustrated at the fact I have seen so many mental health workers in the past and no one until this year ever mentioned the possibility I may have autism. All those years without knowing, it really is frustrating. I guess being a child of the 1960s was an initial problem.
Just like dyslexia, no one was really talking about autism and ADHD those days. I was just the quiet, sensitive child who was good at writing and mental arithmetic but struggled in so many other aspects of my life.
ADHD was also mentioned and I went down the same route of an initial screening, being referred, answering the online questions and then the long interview and diagnosis. Having read about ADHD in the past few weeks, being diagnosed wasn't such a shock. It was fairly obvious to me that I had ADHD.
Over the past few weeks I have joined several groups and of course launched THE MAG. Everything has changed, especially the problem of loneliness that I have had for nearly all of the last decade. Everything is still a bit confusing and I'm learning more as every day goes by. I really am on a learning curve but one I wish I had started a long time ago not a couple of years before I get my pension.
How did your diagnosis affect you? If you want to write about it for THE MAG EXTRA, please contact me at mageditoruk@gmail.com.
Room to Move (2025)
Room to Move is a stunning documentary that can currently be seen on Netflix. It is directed by Alexander Hammer but it was not initially set to be about autism. The documentary follows the life of dancer Jenn Freeman but its subject matter soon goes down a different route when in 2023 at the age of 33, she was diagnosed with autism.
Freeman hadn't even considered such a diagnosis until the subject was featured in the mini-series 'Expecting Amy' which was also directed by Hammer. The very day that she received her diagnosis, Hammer contacted her about them working together on a project.
Her own diagnosis followed and it has changed her life. The dancer admits that she had no idea that finding out she was autistic was "going to be so hard" as she began learning more about herself.
Previous behaviour began to be re-examined and understood. Was her early dancing simply an example of stimming? Freeman admits that finding out she was autistic made a lot of her life "more real" and makes her realise why she has always felt that "something just didn't add up" in the way she behaved. Living in a small town in Idaho helped her avoid being diagnosed as a child. It was just something that wasn't really discussed at that time.
We then follow Freeman as she starts work on her new dance show 'Is it Thursday yet?' Her life becomes increasingly difficult as she struggles with her diagnosis, physical health problems and finding the funding for the show.
This documentary isn't just about Jen Freeman, its director Alexander Hammer also finds himself more in front of the camera than he ever intended. He has his own health problems (at one stage, both he and Freeman are in hospital) and Hammer also admits to being the victim of sexual abuse as a child and that he's also autistic.
In an interview about the documentary, Hammer talks about how receiving an adult diagnosis of autism leads to you "looking backwards as who you were your entire life, not just who you are right now."
He became a close friend of Freeman and the bond that exists between them is clear to all. This really is a special documentary which received its World Premiere at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Anyone who has received a late diagnosis will identify with the reactions shown in this documentary.
WWE Star Sol Ruca Says "ADHD Sucks But It's Pretty Cool."
One of the rising stars in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is Sol Ruca who is the Women's Intercontinental Champion. In a recent interview with Steph McMahon on the 'What's Your Story' podcast, Ruca spoke about her ADHD diagnosis.
In her childhood, Ruca was taken to see a doctor to see if she was like her mother and was dyslexic. That wasn't the case but the doctor said there were some signs of ADHD which her mother felt was not so. It wasn't until Sol was at college studying psychology that she thought that the previous doctor was in fact correct. Ruca asked her roommate if they thought she had ADHD and a definite yes was the reply. Since then she has read many books on the subject and how it affects people in different ways.
In the interview, Ruca talks about rejection sensitivity dysphoria and declares that "ADHD sucks but it's pretty cool." Other topics in the fascinating interview include how ADHD has helped her life and the problem of being a "people-pleaser" and having to mask.
The ADHD segment of the interview begins at the 48 minute mark.
Room to Move is a stunning documentary that can currently be seen on Netflix. It is directed by Alexander Hammer but it was not initially set to be about autism. The documentary follows the life of dancer Jenn Freeman but its subject matter soon goes down a different route when in 2023 at the age of 33, she was diagnosed with autism.
Freeman hadn't even considered such a diagnosis until the subject was featured in the mini-series 'Expecting Amy' which was also directed by Hammer. The very day that she received her diagnosis, Hammer contacted her about them working together on a project.
Her own diagnosis followed and it has changed her life. The dancer admits that she had no idea that finding out she was autistic was "going to be so hard" as she began learning more about herself.
Previous behaviour began to be re-examined and understood. Was her early dancing simply an example of stimming? Freeman admits that finding out she was autistic made a lot of her life "more real" and makes her realise why she has always felt that "something just didn't add up" in the way she behaved. Living in a small town in Idaho helped her avoid being diagnosed as a child. It was just something that wasn't really discussed at that time.
We then follow Freeman as she starts work on her new dance show 'Is it Thursday yet?' Her life becomes increasingly difficult as she struggles with her diagnosis, physical health problems and finding the funding for the show.
This documentary isn't just about Jen Freeman, its director Alexander Hammer also finds himself more in front of the camera than he ever intended. He has his own health problems (at one stage, both he and Freeman are in hospital) and Hammer also admits to being the victim of sexual abuse as a child and that he's also autistic.
In an interview about the documentary, Hammer talks about how receiving an adult diagnosis of autism leads to you "looking backwards as who you were your entire life, not just who you are right now."
He became a close friend of Freeman and the bond that exists between them is clear to all. This really is a special documentary which received its World Premiere at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Anyone who has received a late diagnosis will identify with the reactions shown in this documentary.
WWE Star Sol Ruca Says "ADHD Sucks But It's Pretty Cool."
One of the rising stars in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is Sol Ruca who is the Women's Intercontinental Champion. In a recent interview with Steph McMahon on the 'What's Your Story' podcast, Ruca spoke about her ADHD diagnosis.
In her childhood, Ruca was taken to see a doctor to see if she was like her mother and was dyslexic. That wasn't the case but the doctor said there were some signs of ADHD which her mother felt was not so. It wasn't until Sol was at college studying psychology that she thought that the previous doctor was in fact correct. Ruca asked her roommate if they thought she had ADHD and a definite yes was the reply. Since then she has read many books on the subject and how it affects people in different ways.
In the interview, Ruca talks about rejection sensitivity dysphoria and declares that "ADHD sucks but it's pretty cool." Other topics in the fascinating interview include how ADHD has helped her life and the problem of being a "people-pleaser" and having to mask.
The ADHD segment of the interview begins at the 48 minute mark.
Plot Twist: Apparently, It’s Autism. Too Quirky for Normal, Too Calm for Diagnosis by Sophie Barton. (£1.99 or £0.00 on Kindle Unlimited, Paperback £10.99).
And I thought my book had a long title! This was the first book about autism that I read after my diagnosis. There were many times when I read a passage and had to convince myself that this book wasn't about me.
It was full of examples that I could have written myself. As every chapter progressed I found myself associating with many of the comments the author made and I bet you would as well. The author looks back at her life and discusses behaviour such as endlessly rehearsing conversations and continually having several different subjects floating around in her head.
In her introduction, the author writes that this book is for "the late bloomers. The quietly exhausted" and those "who always felt a little different too much, but never quite "enough" to warrant a diagnosis."
Autism for her is something she wonderfully describes as having "a thousand tabs open in my brain at all times. Her view of being autistic is that you're someone who simply didn't receive the manual on "how to be a person."
Several areas of her life are examined with total honesty. The struggles she has had as a child and then in employment are all looked at. Sophie was 30 when diagnosed and writes: "Everything is the same. You still have the same memories, the same quirks, the same coping mechanisms and fears and fascinations. But now you also have a name. And with that name comes a lens. And with that lens comes clarity."
This is a book that anyone who has had a late diagnosis should get a copy of. It's not just me who feels this way, the online reviews are very positive and emotional. It is full of honesty with plenty of wit thrown in for good measure. Go to Amazon to make one of the best purchases you'll make in a long while.
And I thought my book had a long title! This was the first book about autism that I read after my diagnosis. There were many times when I read a passage and had to convince myself that this book wasn't about me.
It was full of examples that I could have written myself. As every chapter progressed I found myself associating with many of the comments the author made and I bet you would as well. The author looks back at her life and discusses behaviour such as endlessly rehearsing conversations and continually having several different subjects floating around in her head.
In her introduction, the author writes that this book is for "the late bloomers. The quietly exhausted" and those "who always felt a little different too much, but never quite "enough" to warrant a diagnosis."
Autism for her is something she wonderfully describes as having "a thousand tabs open in my brain at all times. Her view of being autistic is that you're someone who simply didn't receive the manual on "how to be a person."
Several areas of her life are examined with total honesty. The struggles she has had as a child and then in employment are all looked at. Sophie was 30 when diagnosed and writes: "Everything is the same. You still have the same memories, the same quirks, the same coping mechanisms and fears and fascinations. But now you also have a name. And with that name comes a lens. And with that lens comes clarity."
This is a book that anyone who has had a late diagnosis should get a copy of. It's not just me who feels this way, the online reviews are very positive and emotional. It is full of honesty with plenty of wit thrown in for good measure. Go to Amazon to make one of the best purchases you'll make in a long while.
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