Growing up as an autistic teenager in the early noughties, I often struggled with the prejudices of the people around me. When I obsessed over specific interests, failed to make eye contact and was socially awkward, I would be told that there was something "wrong" with me. For a long time, I internalized these assessments; it was not until I learned about the concept of neurodiversity that my self-esteem improved. I viewed myself not as a mistake, but simply as representing one part of a larger spectrum of humanity.
I'm not sure I'd be alive today if I had never reached that point of wisdom.
