It’s hard being a teen, going through puberty and such. But being a teen with autism is even harder.
Ever since I was 4, I was diagnosed with Severe (non-communicative) Autism. Today, I’m 13 with High-Functioning (able to communicate effectively) Autism. Because of 2 years of therapy with a team of 6 therapists, ending when I was 6 years, I’ve been acting well since then. For me, it’s hard for me to act my age, but I behave like I’m supposed to.
I think life is good and all (because life is good), but living with autism is hard. The reason why it’s hard is because we are more aware of the world around us. But other than that, it’s just being a teen that makes it hard. You can experience depression, you can get acne, you have to take care of yourself. That is not even 1/3 of the things that make it hard for us. Especially for the autistic people, including me. (Of course, I’m not going through depression.)
In other words, even though I’m autistic, doesn’t mean I’m not like the other teens. It just means I’m a special type of teen! <3 the autistic.
Calgary, Canada