They listened, and were surprisingly supportive. Now they think if I have it that I got it from my dad’s side since his brother and sister in retrospect are pretty classic cases and are really struggling, even at an advanced age.

The only criticism was that my mom thought it could be PTSD from an extremely young age (I was born with some birth defects that needed extensive surgery when I was young) and all I could do was shrug. I heard trauma from the first couple of years can lead to a form of acquired autism. I told her if that’s true the distinction is academic, and that I’m choosing to see it, if its true, as a positive thing, as its shaped who I am and given me so much (even if it has been difficult too).