Welcome back to WP! I think you will find some nice folk here, and I hope decide to visit more often.
I got my ASD-1 diagnosis in 2019, shortly before my 65th birthday. I had never even heard of the Autism Spectrum before 2019 and certainly did not think I was "Autistic".
Yet, here I am.
I started reading about Autism in 2019 after I got a clue that maybe, just possibly, as unlikely as it seemed, as a child I might have had some traits that were Autistic. But the more I read the more it fit. I discovered that even as an adult I had Autistic traits. My bride had been investigating, too, and she agreed that I matched the profile. Eventually I hired a Psychologist to do a formal assessment and got confirmation.
Some of the traits I previously (and still) associate with being a strong INTJ.
When I first concluded that I was probably a High Functioning Autistic I thought "Gee! I think I've done reasonably well despite the Autism. I wonder if there are any famous Autistics." Sigh. I did some Internet searches to see if there were and my ego took a beating. It took me some time to realize those folk were more accomplished than just about everyone who is alive or has ever been alive--Autistic, or not. Granted those lists are of suspected Auties, but surely many of those folk really are Auties, and I feel honored to share a syndrome with them.
Yeah. It's still a bit of a surprise that I'm Autistic. But, I am and I now realize "Autism" is more complicated than I thought.
But it was really nice to get a much better understanding of my past.
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When diagnosed I bought champagne!
I finally knew why people were strange.