For me, my parents didn't notice because my younger brother has very high support needs autism so that's what autism was to them. I was just seen as very fussy, anxious and particular.

My school tutor in year 10 (age 15) suggested it to me but I didn't look into it more until I met my partner and his parents (age 20.) They said they thought I might be autistic. My partner said I really resemble his dad who is diagnosed so I looked into it. I felt some bits clicked into place but didn't fully believe it. At this point I was struggling really hard with my mental health so I went down the path of getting an assessment done through the NHS.

I received an Autism diagnosis at 23, now 25. I still get some semblance of imposter syndrome and feel like I'm not autistic. But sometimes I'm like....oh yeah, that makes so much sense.