First off, I was diagnosed at 25, but I had an idea that I might be autistic at 16. From birth to 16, I didn't have an idea that I might have been so I don't know what I could say. I knew I used masking for most of my life but before knowing its name I'd called it "copycat personality." I did think I was a weird kid as I was growing up.

I had very to little friends around me even though I was in school. But I still had my hypersensitivity to light and noise. I recall going for a family photo and the flash would set me off, but I was less than 5 at this point. Or if my parents took me to a fair and the loud noises and flashing lights again would set me off.

But it was in college where on of my tutors told us about her dealing with her autism, and as she spoke about it, I kept relating to the points she was making. So, after returning home I looked for an online quiz to see if I had it, I knew it wasn't official, but it said I was autistic.

It wasn't until I was 25 where my brother, who worked for the non-emergency services who outwardly just said it. So, I took his advice and got diagnosed with autism. Soon after I took a short class about how to deal with it, I already knew about all these ordeals since I've already lived them.