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Unmasking: coming out as autistic in adulthood

A light-skinned Black woman with freckles and curly brown hair holds two white masks up on either side of her face. Both masks have smiles and happy expressions. She is wearing a blue V-neck T-shirt and is looking at the mask on the right with a neutral expression.
Charnel Hunter

One 2022 study shows 80% of autistic people assigned female at birth remain undiagnosed at 18. A self-empowerment coach, a lawyer and a photographer tell their stories about how late autism diagnoses shape their relationships and identity.

For the first 24 years of her life, content creator Irene Chon had never suspected she might be autistic. Sure, she had had trouble navigating social norms and managing sensory overstimulation, but she accepted these traits as personal faults and continued to trudge through the neurotypical world full speed ahead. When the pandemic hit, the routines and schedules that had kept her afloat began to crumble and so did she … until she stumbled across TikTok videos created by late-diagnosed autistic women that resonated with her experiences.

Host Anita Rao talks with Irene about her journey toward a diagnosis and how having a name for her experience enabled her to reframe her past and craft a more accommodating future. Anita also talks with Kofi Robinson, a Black lawyer and content creator, about navigating work and friendships as an autistic person.

Photographer Jenni Chapman also joins the conversation to talk about navigating romantic relationships and intimacy as a queer, non-binary and autistic person.

Special thanks to Sara and Catherine for sharing their stories with us for this episode.

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Gabriela Glueck is a producer for Embodied, a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, health and relationships.
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.
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