What Is Neurodiversity?

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Many neurodivergent individuals diagnosed later in life experience grief.

Anger and sadness are the main emotions mentioned during this process.

Getting to a phase of acceptance is long and difficult, as grief can last for years.

More and more adults are finding out about their diagnosis of ADHD, autism, or dyslexia later in life. While many people are finally getting the answers and the help they need, many are also going through what many late-diagnosed neurodivergent individuals have defined as "post-diagnosis grief."

This term became popular on social media platforms before research started looking into it, but a thematic analysis of many lived experiences of neurodivergent individuals in a new study shows a convergence in themes and phases of grief that many late-diagnosed adults experience to this day.

Theme 1: The Life I Could Have Had

This first theme resonates with my own experience, and with many others who have been diagnosed later in life with any kind of condition. It is a phase that usually comes right after the diagnosis and the initial disbelief - for many, it also comes after trying therapy, or effective medication.

This phase includes an understanding that one’s mental health and sense of well-being would have been better with earlier identification, that one would have been able to be further ahead in their education or career with earlier support, and that one would be able to lead the life they want if they had the right sense of self-understanding earlier.

Often, just knowing that your brain may work a bit differently can help devise life strategies built around those difficulties. Instead, many people who don't know they are neurodivergent desperately try to fit into a mold that was not made for them. This creates feelings of failure and exhaustion. It comes as no surprise that people diagnosed later in life tend to have lower self-esteem than individuals who were........

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