A Middle-Aged Man Looks at a Childhood Diagnosis: A New First-Person Account of Autism

A first-person account of the experience of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)/pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) is presented by a 63-year-old man who was diagnosed with autism at 22 months of age and has been in therapy for over half his life. He has five publications in mental health journals and two masters’ degrees to his credit. He lives independently, has friends, and holds a job that puts him firmly in the upper-middle class. Besides being able to “make it in this world,” he never went to a special school and appears to be neurotypical to most people. The history of how he got as far as he did is discussed as well as the prejudices and unusual problems he has faced. What he has learned from his experience with ASD and why it matters are then summarized.