Join three women who bonded over late-in-life autism diagnoses as they discuss their journeys to find themselves.
April 10th 2022 at 2pm!
This will be Library for the Kind’s first event with Storytime Solidarity!
In the past Library for the Kind has hosted virtual author events to bring authors to the homes of the homebound community during the pandemic. Authors such as John Peel, Samantha Lee Howe and Gary Russel donated their time to connect with their fans.
This group also promotes kindness in literature at science fiction conventions and in 2023 will be hosting their own convention on Long Island, NY!
-Stefanie
Missed the Livestream? Don’t worry, the event is now available on Youtube!
Pre-ambling
It is possible to be autistic and not know. It is possible for autism to be missed by therapists. It is possible to see multiple care providers and be repeatedly assessed without an autism diagnosis. Even diagnosed women — particularly BIPOC women — risk having their hard-won diagnosis disbelieved because we don’t fit what someone on the outside expects autism to look like. These same people seem to miss that questioning another person’s medical diagnosis can be very painful.
That this is true is a shame because, for our three panelists and so many others, life begins with diagnosis.
-Kate
What Does Allistic Mean?
Allistic is a neutral term that simply means non-autistic.
This term includes all neurotypical (NT) people but is distinct from NT because, while all autistic people are neuro divergent (ND) not all ND people people are autistic.
Tara Shannon (she/her)
Diagnosed at 44
Tara is the author and illustrator of Rabbit & Bear, characters that went viral in March 2020. What began as an outlet for processing her feelings about her own mental and physical health (and grief) following a miscarriage, the loss of her parents, and a cancer diagnosis, became something thousands of people worldwide began to follow daily, both online and in the pages of her books that followed. Tara was failed in grade one, and since then knew that something was different in the way she perceived the world (and how it perceived her). It wasn’t until she was about 25 that she began to wonder if she was neurodivergent.
At 42 Tara was diagnosed with ADHD, and just this past January at 44, she received her official autism diagnosis. Diagnosis has been validating and life changing for Tara, who for one thing no longer sees herself as a failure, but the result of a failed system. A system that is changing but still has far to go.
Rabbit & Bear Make a Wish and, Rabbit & Bear Return with the Light, published by Wintertickle Press, are available on Amazon. In Canada, Tara’s first book can be found on Indigo.ca.
Sarah Nettuno Lohrey (she/her)
Diagnosed at 25
is a little kid trapped in an adult’s body, working as a professional children’s book illustrator based out of New York.
Sarah’s diagnosis story is a bit bumpy, as she was diagnosed with “all the ingredients of Autism” as a child and received a lot of the same therapies and services as a child diagnosed with Autism including years of speech and language therapy and special education. These diagnosis’s included Mixed Receptive and Expressive Language Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Social Anxiety, Dyslexia, and Dyscalculia.
At the age of 25 Sarah was finally diagnosed with Autism, which has been a life changing experience for her to have a real answer for how she is instead of a bunch of broken up confusing answers.
Receiving her Autism diagnosis was one of the best things that has happened to her as she now understands herself better, and feels less alone, which leads to a better life.
Kate Reynolds (aka Miss Kate or The Lavender Librarian; she/they)
Diagnosed at 35
Kate is a children’s librarian, writer, and singer. In July 2021, after her favourite Facebook Group, Storytime Underground, decided to archive Kate created Storytime Solidarity, a group devoted to supporting and connecting children’s library and education workers to help welcome every family. In November 2021, along with an amazing team, they launched storytimesolidarity.com
As a child, Kate was considered academically and musically gifted and fit the “absentminded professor” stereotype. Her academic proficiencies masked daily struggles. Deeply empathetic Kate simply assumed that everyone else was similarly struggling and simply handling things more effectively. She didn’t know it was possible to be ND and not know. She certainly didn’t think autism was something that could have been missed by so many healthcare providers.
Life began with diagnosis and she encourages anyone who thinks they may be autistic to have hope. Your life is about to start!
