2/25 Late Diagnosis and Identity

What happens when you receive a diagnosis years — or decades — after you first struggled?

For many neurodivergent students, ADHD or autism is recognized late: in high school, in college, in graduate school, or even adulthood. A late diagnosis can bring relief, validation, anger, grief, clarity — sometimes all at once.

This week, DNA will explore the psychology of late diagnosis and identity reconstruction, grounded in research that explicitly examines adult ADHD and autism recognition.

We’ll draw from:

Lewis, L. F. (2016). Exploring the experience of self-diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in adults. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 30(5), 575–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2016.03.009

Stenner, P., Dancey, C. P., & Watts, S. (2019). The understanding of their diagnosis among adults diagnosed with autism in adulthood: A qualitative study. Autism, 23(5), 1101–1112. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318793118

Leedham, A., Thompson, A. R., Smith, R., & Freeth, M. (2020). “I was exhausted trying to figure it out”: The experiences of females receiving an autism diagnosis in middle to late adulthood. Autism, 24(1), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319853442

We’ll discuss:

• Why so many neurodivergent people are diagnosed late — especially women and marginalized groups

• The emotional arc of late diagnosis: relief, grief, anger, reframing

• Reinterpreting childhood experiences through a new lens

• The tension between “This explains everything” and “Why didn’t anyone see this sooner?”

• How diagnosis reshapes academic identity, relationships, and self-trust

• The difference between medical labels and self-identification

Guiding questions:

• How does naming something change how we relate to ourselves?

• Is diagnosis an ending — or a beginning?

• What parts of your past make more sense now?