Article spotlights adults who used diagnoses to have success

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As a young adult, Dr Leong, the third of four daughters, found it challenging to make out societal norms and expectations. She felt lost trying to figure out what to say and how to behave at parties. The concept of telling white lies to avoid social embarrassment was also bewildering to her as she preferred to be frank and direct.

When she was in her early 40s, she felt suicidal following the death of her father, to whom she had been close, and amid acrimonious, hurtful interactions with people she knew, one of whom called her "crazy".

After decades of having been mocked by peers, teachers and family members, the catharsis she felt gave her the impetus and energy to pursue further studies - a Master of Philosophy degree in music composition at the University of Hong Kong and, subsequently, a PhD in autism and art at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

She is working on art pieces that help others understand aspects of her autistic experience for an exhibition in Sydney, which opens in September.

Earlier this month, British writer and mother of four Laura James published a memoir, Odd Girl Out: An Autistic Woman In A Neurotypical World, which recounts her experience of being diagnosed as autistic at age 45.

After learning of the diagnosis, Eric, 34, says his self-esteem "went through the roof" after years of low self-regard and episodes of bullying in primary and secondary school over his apparently odd behaviour, which he now understands is linked to his condition.

After graduating from polytechnic with a diploma in logistics engineering and management, he went to several job interviews that ended quickly after he mentioned that he was autistic.

One non-governmental organisation at which he applied for an office job said it did not want to take the "risk" of employing an autistic person, he recalls.

Eric, who blogs about autism at iautistic.com and has written several books about the condition, has been in his current IT job, which he got through a friend's recommendation, for more than four years. It is his fourth job since graduation.

In contrast, Mr Khor Kuan Min, 32, landed himself a job because he was upfront about his diagnosis in his early 20s of Asperger syndrome, which has been described as a neurobiological condition at the higher-functioning end of the autistic spectrum.

After finishing his master's degree in English literature at National University of Singapore, he was determined not to let his condition affect his ability to earn a living. He approached Autism Resource Centre's Employability and Employment Centre, which provides training, job placement and job support services for those with autism.

The centre helped place him in his current job of close to four years as an assistant executive who does research and administrative work at MOH Holdings, the holding company for Singapore's healthcare institutions.