4.1 Diagnosis

A Team

Hey there! Welcome to A Team Podcast. Glad you’re here.

Since you’re here, it’s very likely that you, or someone you know, has been searching for information about autism in adults. You’ve come to the right place. This podcast is all about authentic conversations about being an adult AND being autistic. We’re out and proud, and you should be, too. We hope that hearing us talk and laugh (we laugh a lot) and occasionally cry (emotions overwhelm us) will make you feel nothing but positivity about life for autistic people. We call ourselves the A Team for a reason, and we’re happy to have you join us.

We’re re-running our very first recorded conversation because we think it’s an important one. Our two founders, Rafael and Robert, explore what it means to them to have learned as adults that they are autistic. We’ve heard from hundreds of people that this conversation helped them feel, for the first time, that an autism diagnosis was not necessarily a bad thing. In this conversation, we discuss life before and after getting diagnosed, Imposter Syndrome, masking to get along, the history of autism diagnosis, and how having a diagnosis leads to having more understanding and support.

If you want more information about the topics we discuss, check out your podcaster’s description of this episode for links. And check out the chapter markers to find things that may be important to you. Thanks for listening.

Moon Landing
Rafael Montesso
Robert Smythe

08:48.68

Subreddit: AutismTranslated

10:32.52 Why did you seek a diagnosis

13:39.50 Rain Man (1988) - IMDb

18:14.80 learning and research after diagnosis

21:08.75 we’re very aware of what’s going on in our heads

23:53.96 Robert: "I always feel like I'm in a room full of people who are all speaking the same language and I'm speaking the same language but nobody understands me, right? "

24:54.24 Outsides don’t match insides - further the diagnosis story

28:31.42 Robert's details about getting a diagnosis Robert

29:44.37 imposter syndrome

32:17.00 Autistic Pride

33:52.46 trying to fit in & I don’t find you interesting

35:44.17 Am I a willful asshole or just autistic?

37:17.50 Diagnosis gives permission to relax and forgive yourself

38:30.97 Every autistic person is different. "You know the saying is, when you meet 1 autistic person, you've met 1 autistic person."

39:52.37 The beginning of the Smythe Love Story and lessons on relationships

46:38.28 Is a diagnosis worth it?

51:45.95 The Florence Syndrome and the importance of a diagnosis

53:23.00 David (Michelangelo) - Wikipedia

57:36.48 Knowing that you need to prepare to go out

59:05.62 Having a diagnosis lends to having more understanding and support

01:07:24.45 Masking to get along

01:13:43.51 The conundrum of diagnosis for young autistics

01:16:16.53 Parents trying to fix autistic kids

01:21:03.78 "I don’t believe in all this autism, it wasn’t around when I was a kid or it’s from the foods we eat…"

01:24:11.25 History of autism diagnosis:&&