I seem to do everything late, lol.

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I’m transgender, bisexual, and polyamorous, but I didn’t come out until age 55. Now I’ve just learned, at 69, I’m autistic. I always knew I was trans, but it wasn’t safe to come out until relatively late in life. But I never thought I was autistic, although recently I began to wonder. My ex-wife now says that she and the kids have suspected for years. What does one do with finding this out at a late age? I’m thinking not much will change, since I’ve obviously been living with it all my life, but maybe some things will start to make sense.

Colleen

It's another key to understanding yourself. Growth in self-knowledge at any age is a good thing, sometimes rough as first, but good in the end. I was diagnosed as autistic over a decade ago as an adult (I'm 59 now) and am just coming to grips with my demi-pansexuality and my clear degree of gender fluidity. All things that people around me seemed to get long before I did.

Good to see another Canadian here! Thanks for the reply. I’ll admit I’m feeling a bit vulnerable right now. Trying to learn all I can about this new landscape. It’s somewhat disorienting. I thought I knew myself pretty well, lol. This opens up a whole new can of worms. Although looking back, the signs were all there. I’ve made an appointment with my therapist week after next.

Colleen

Take Care Colleen. Just when I think I have myself figured out, something new comes along

It may be easier to avoid stressful situations.

I now avoid shopping when it is busy. I've gone to Target and found it too busy as soon as I walked in the door, so I turned around and left to come back another day.

I now wear high fidelity earplugs in noisy situations, like watching fireworks close to the action.
Or, better yet, watching them from a hill far enough away from the action to lessen the noise.

I attended a songwriting workshop this week (whole week). I had some trepidations going into it, and I was right. The sessions tended to go long, completely messing up the schedule. So I found the strength to advocate for myself, telling one of the organizers that the schedule slippage was causing me anxiety and disregulation. It worked! They adhered to the schedule from then on. Self-advocacy is important.

That was good you were able to speak up for yourself!