Autistic Culture Presents Late Diagnosis Club: How Julie Discovered Her Autism Through Burnout and Books
In this meeting of The Late Diagnosis Club, Dr Angela Kingdon welcomes Julie Farrell, a late-diagnosed Autistic and ADHD writer, activist, and co-founder of The Inklusion Guide, a resource dedicated to making literature events accessible to disabled people.
Julie shares her slow, layered journey toward understanding her neurodivergence — from burnout, migraines, and chronic illness labels, to finding herself mirrored in Autistic writers like Katherine May, to sobbing through the documentary Seeing the Unseen and finally knowing in her bones.
Together, Angela and Julie explore masking, shutdowns mislabelled as anxiety, CPTSD, creative identity, freelance work as nervous system regulation, and the relief of receiving a diagnosis in a supportive, affirming environment. They also talk about ADHD medication, menstrual cycle titration, EMDR therapy, and what it feels like to “precipitate out of the hot goo” and become solid for the first time.
This episode is also about Autistic joy — about stars, navigation, grief, and how Julie’s late father taught her to look up at the night sky and find her way.
🪑 Attendees
Chair: Dr Angela Kingdon — Author, community-builder, and Autistic advocate
Guest: Julie Farrell — Writer, activist, and late-diagnosed Autistic & ADHD woman
You: The Listener!
🗒️ Meeting Agenda
- Opening remarks from the Chair
- Member introduction: Burnout, writing communities, and slow recognition
- Discussion: Masking, shutdowns, and anxiety misdiagnosis
- Chronic illness labels, brain fog, and nervous system overwhelm
- Self-identification, late ADHD discovery and medication
- Creativity, rejection sensitivity, and publishing Someone Like Me
- Key learnings
- Club announcements
🧾 Minutes from the Meeting
1️⃣ Opening Remarks
Angela introduces Julie as a writer whose work reclaims Autistic narrative and centres accessibility, creativity, and late discovery. The conversation begins with the power of anthologies — reading other Autistic women’s work and realising, “Oh. That wasn’t just me.”
2️⃣ Member Introduction: Julie’s Story
Julie traces her recognition back to 2018, when she ran a co-writing group in Edinburgh and befriended an openly Autistic man who spoke about burnout cycles. At the time, she didn’t see herself in autism — she was high masking and had internalized generalized anxiety and fibromyalgia diagnoses.
Reading Wintering by Catherine May and later reviewing the documentary Seeing the Unseen became turning points. She describes sobbing at the end of the film and knowing, finally, that she was Autistic.
3️⃣ Discussion Highlights
- Masking & shutdowns: Nonverbal shutdowns misinterpreted as panic attacks
- Misdiagnosis: Anxiety and fibromyalgia concealing Autistic burnout
- Burnout at 30: Months unable to leave the sofa; repeated medical dismissal
- Self-ID vs formal diagnosis: The emotional weight of both
- Being believed: “Are you telling me I’m not stupid?”
- ADHD discovery: Hyperactivity, career misalignment, and paid assessment
- Medication: Titration and menstrual cycle adjustments
- Publishing: Invited to contribute to Someone Like Me
- Grief & stars: Writing about her father, navigation, and expansive belonging
4️⃣ Key Learnings
- Burnout cycles can be mistaken for anxiety
- Masking can delay self-recognition for years
- Diagnosis can dissolve lifelong shame
- Medication can reshape creative capacity
- Freelance work can be nervous system care
- Autistic joy often lives in special interests
📌 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.
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🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com
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🎙️ 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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