Hiding in Plain Sight
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v4i1.5675Keywords:
autism, lived experience, late diagnosisAbstract
Receiving an autism diagnosis later in life led the author to contextualize a lifetime of struggles and accomplishments, sparking profound reflection on the meaning of success, happiness, and interpersonal relationships. These two stories share the author’s lived experience with intimate detail. In the first story, the author shares his mental model that likens living with autism to ‘hiding in plain sight’, uncovering the intensive emotional toll it takes. In the second story, titled ‘All the Best With Your Future Endeavours,’ the author delves into the realm of work in our world, and the relentless pursuit of societal definitions of success. As the author grapples with his late diagnosis, the need to understand his past from a new lens becomes a journey towards self-discovery. What emerges from this is a moving account of a life molded by a desire to conform to societal roles, a norm shown through such mastery that it hides the true self. This narrative explores the challenges of understanding and embracing one’s identity, particularly within a world that often fails to recognize and accept differences. Together, these narratives illuminate the struggle of navigating life with autism and the simultaneous joy that can come from discovering one’s unique personal power.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 James Townend
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
CJAE accepts articles that have not been published in any other journals/proceedings, unless copyright permission is assured, and have not been submitted for consideration to any other journals/proceedings at the time of submitting to the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity for consideration. While a paper is under consideration by CJAE, you agree not to submit the work to other journals/proceedings until review by CJAE is completed and a decision has been rendered.