Autistic Culture Presents Late Diagnosis Club: How Amy Built a New School After Discovering She Was Autistic
In this meeting of The Late Diagnosis Club, Dr Angela Kingdon welcomes Amy Kriewaldt, a late-diagnosed Autistic, ADHD, and PDA mother of three neurodivergent children.
Amy grew up a hyperlexic piano prodigy, praised for talent and performance while quietly navigating sensory overwhelm, situational mutism, perfectionism, and crushing internal expectations. It wasn’t until her children began receiving diagnoses that she started to recognise herself in their traits, and ultimately heard the words that changed everything: “Oh, I think you’re Autistic.”
Together, Angela and Amy explore hyperlexia, auditory processing differences, late self-recognition, self-compassion, memoir writing as a reframing, ADHD medication, self-medication through alcohol and caffeine, and the shift from compliance-based education to connection-centred learning.
This is a conversation about reframing failure, advocating fiercely, rewriting your past, and building systems that support autistic people across the lifespan.
🪑 Attendees
Chair: Dr Angela Kingdon — Author, community-builder, and Autistic advocate
Guest: Amy Kriewaldt — late-diagnosed Autistic, ADHD, and PDA advocate; founder of Creewald Academy
You: The Listener!
🗒️ Meeting Agenda
- Opening remarks from the Chair
- Member introduction: Prodigy pressure, hyperlexia, and sensory overwhelm
- Discussion: Parenting autistic children and recognising yourself
- Auditory processing, situational mutism, and late diagnosis
- ADHD, self-medication, and relief through treatment
- Rewriting childhood through memoir and self-compassion
- Restraint policies, advocacy, and saying “no”
🧾 Minutes from the Meeting
1️⃣ Opening Remarks
Angela introduces Amy as a late-diagnosed Autistic and ADHD parent navigating life with three neurodivergent children — all PDA — and building alternatives where traditional systems fall short.
2️⃣ Member Introduction: Amy’s Story
Amy describes growing up as the youngest of eight children and a piano prodigy — hyperlexic, musically analytical, and praised for performance. Behind the talent were sensory overload, situational mutism, intense perfectionism, and chronic overwhelm that went unrecognised.
As her children received diagnoses, Amy began to see familiar patterns: auditory processing differences, sensory avoidance, social anxiety, and shutdown.
During a phone call describing how she processes information — needing complete silence to think — her psychologist paused and said, “Oh. I think you’re autistic.”
3️⃣ Discussion Highlights
- Prodigy pressure: Performance, perfectionism, and masking through music
- Parenting mirror: Recognising autistic traits through her children
- Auditory processing: Needing silence to think and work
- ADHD realisation: Chronic lateness, executive dysfunction, and relief through medication
- Self-medication cycle: Alcohol, caffeine, and nervous system swings
- IEP advocacy: “It doesn’t need fixing. It needs supporting.”
- Restraint refusal: Saying no to compliance-based control
4️⃣ Key Learnings
- Diagnosis can transform shame into self-compassion
- Failure often reflects unmet needs, not broken character
- Support changes everything
- Advocacy sometimes begins with “No”
- Compliance is not the same as learning
- Children thrive when autonomy is honoured
- Rewriting your past can reprogram your future
- You are not a moral failure for having limits
📌 Notice Board
📣 Club Announcements
🎧 The Late Diagnosis Club is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.
💬 Join our online meetups and community at latediagnosis.club.
📌 Check the LDC Notice Board for Member Contributions
💜 There is a small charge — but no one is turned away for lack of funds.
🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com
🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com
📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast
🎙️ Executive Producers: Amy Burns, Anamaria B Call, Andrew Banner, Anna Goodson, Ashley Apelzin, Audrea Volker, Ben Coulson, Brian Churcek, Cappy Hamper, Carley Biblin, Charlene Deva, Chloe Cross, Clay Duhigg, Clayton Oliver, Danny Dunn, Daria Brown, David Garrido, Emily Burgess, Eric Crane, Erik Stenerud, Fiona Baker, Grace Norman, Helen Shaddock, Jaimie Collins, Jason Killian, Jen Unruh, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Tretter, Kathie Watson-Gray, Kenneth Knowles, Kira Cotter, Kristine Lang, Kyle Raney, Llew P Williams, Laura Alvarado, Laura De Vito, Laura Provonsha, Lily George, Nelly Darmi, Nigel Rogers, Rachel Miller, Tim Scott, Tyler Kunz, Victoria Steed, Yanina Wood.
🎧 Producers: AJ Knight, Bobby Simon, Da Kovac, Eleanor Collins, Emily Griffiths, Hannah Hughes, Jennifer Kemp, Jonas Fløde, Kate F, Katie N Benitez, Kendra Murphy, Lisa Dennys, Logan Wall, Louise Lomas, Melissa Nance, Nicola Owen, Rebecka Johansson, Sam Morris, Sarah Hannah Morris.
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