Looking back as a man diagnosed at a much later age I definitely think my life would have been easier if I would have been diagnosed earlier in life. My parents simply never saw the signs, or actively ignored them. It was only when I wasn’t doing well in school that they intervened, and only to improve my academic performance. I guess they didn’t want to have a child with issues. I was yelled at by teachers for always being the last one to turn in my assignment, being too messy, etc. I didn’t have many friends, was bullied and basically always felt like an unwanted outsider as a kid.

I think I would have been better off having some help improving my coping strategies from a young age. I’m not saying your kid will face the same things that I did, but if it was me, I would have liked to have some help growing up.

I’m still a (very) high functioning adult right now, but it cost me a lot of effort, stress and time to get here – a lot more than the vast majority of my peers. I still have issues that most of them simply do not even have to think about.