“If you find out that you’re Autistic later in life, it does not change who you are. In fact, it doesn’t change who you are regardless of ‘if’ or ‘when’ you find out.
Your neurotype has been with you since birth; it is you.
What that recognition does, however, is give you the opportunity to start to see yourself in a different light, in a way that is more inclusive, compassionate, forgiving and loving. It gives you the chance to understand yourself better, through a new, more accurate lens. That chance is worth so much more than you could ever know. It can be literally life changing.
You are absolutely entitled to the freedom to be exactly who you need to be, and to be unapologetically you. Your neurotype makes you no less of a capable and worthy human being. You are entitled to access supports and adjustments to allow you to thrive in your environment. You are entitled to feel loved and safe, heard and seen. You are enough, just as you are.
There does not need to be any stigma around being Autistic. Educate yourself from the perspective of others with lived experience. Listen to them and learn. We all have a responsibility to learn and to contribute to that educational piece; sharing our experiences as Autistic individuals and being involved in the dialogue helps to work towards creating a more accepting and understanding world.”
– Sarah Climpson
A new Autism diagnosis (or the epiphany that you are Autistic) can be very validating. Some Autists describe it as feeling like “finally coming home to myself”.
However, that same identification might also lead you to question or reassess some things in your life. As you adjust to your “new normal”, it is common to feel upside down, confused or in flux.
That’s why we created this Welcome Pack.
We want you to know that you’re not in this alone – far from it! In fact, there’s a whole community of your neurokindred here to share their stories, experiences and insights. Some of these neurokindred have shared their insights in this Welcome Pack.
Inside the Welcome Pack, you’ll learn more about:
• Discovering that you are Autistic
• Autism acceptance, self-compassion and self-care
• Developing a positive Autistic identity
• Reducing masking and camouflaging
• Living a good Autistic life
• What we wish we had known
• What we wish others to know
Plus additional resources, insights, glossaries, FAQs and Autism 101’s.
With open arms, we welcome you to the Autistic community.
Our Welcome Pack is available to download as a PDF (with images and colours), or as a simple, accessible Word document.
Bonus content: If you would like somewhere to note your thoughts and reflections in reading through the Welcome Pack, the Workbook is a fillable PDF that collects together the reflection prompts within the Welcome Pack for you to complete.
Welcome Pack
Workbook
We invite you to engage with this Welcome Pack in whatever way works for you. You might like to read in full, from start to finish, or dip in and out at bits that interest you.
We hope you enjoy exploring our Autistic insights as much as we have.
Recognising the existing gap in post-diagnostic support for people diagnosed in adulthood, Reframing Autism has facilitated the development of a community-designed “Welcome Pack.”
Our Welcome Pack has been collaboratively developed by our Intersectional Advisory Committee – a diverse group of Autistic adults, ensuring a wide range of perspectives from within the Autistic community. The Welcome Pack has been developed through a neuro-affirming lens, where Autism is seen as a difference rather than a deficit.
Our Welcome Pack is a resource, designed to welcome newly diagnosed Autistic individuals to our community following the diagnostic process. This resource will also provide informative and reflective support to newly diagnosed Autistic adults in their everyday lives. The topics were selected in collaboration with and created by the co-design group and are based on initial research on the post-diagnostic support needs of newly diagnosed Autistic adults (e.g. Crowson et al., 2022; Wilson et al., 2023).
Our Welcome Pack is a resource that targets the large disparity existing for Autistic individuals diagnosed in adulthood, due to the limited support available for this cohort. As part of this gap, co-design outputs like this one that capture the perspectives of adults are critical. We are delighted that this Welcome Pack will be used by Aspect clinicians to support Autistic adults following their diagnosis. In partnership with Aspect, the Welcome Pack will be evaluated to ensure it is relevant for our community into the future.
References
The Reframing Autism team would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we have the privilege to learn, work, and grow. Whilst we gather on many different parts of this Country, the RA team walk on the land of the Birpai, Awabakal, Wattamattagal, Whadjak, Amangu, Bunurong and Kaurna Yarta peoples.
We are committed to honouring the rich culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this Country, and the diversity and learning opportunities with which they provide us. We extend our gratitude and respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to all Elders past, present, and emerging, for their wisdom, their resilience, and for helping this Country to heal.
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