"My whole life I thought there was something wrong with me. My diagnosis changed those thoughts. When I learned about my diagnosis I knew nothing was wrong with me…I knew that I had something very special about me.

I’m still trying to figure out what this all means.  All I know for sure is that I finally feel whole and as strange as this might sound, my life makes sense now.  I don’t feel out of place and awkward.  I guess the greatest thing that came out of this is how I’ve been feeling my whole life has finally been validated.

While boys on the spectrum tend to become rowdy, girls on the spectrum tend to introvert and are labeled shy and quiet. That’s all I heard growing up…that I was shy and quiet.  It annoyed the heck out of me.

I now feel that I am understood much better by the people in my life.  It’s a struggle every day trying to figure out this thing called life as someone who is on the spectrum, but with the support of my family and friends, I know I can become a better person.  Just the other day, someone very close to me mentioned how far I have come in such a short time.  I still get frustrated on little things I feel I shouldn’t do and my sensory sensitivity, but I am learning how to live as a female on the autism spectrum.

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Now as my 35th birthday and my one year anniversary of my diagnosis approaches, I could not be any happier with whom I am.  The past year has been a roller coaster, but I can finally truly say that I am comfortable in my own skin.  It’s a great feeling!"