Mr. Naomh?n Mhaonaigh:

I realised I was autistic when I was 15 and from that moment on, I tried to pursue getting a diagnosis from a GP. I talked to my GP and I have changed GP since then. Everyone was like, "No, don't do this, you don't want to do this and you don't need another label.". I am transgender. People would not look past their own prejudices to see that this was something I needed to help get access to supports. I left it for a while and eventually, having missed years of school because I am autistic, I realised in college that I did not know how to cope and would need greater accommodations than I had. I pursued getting a diagnosis which my parents had to pay a lot of money for because there is no pathway for adults to get a diagnosis. I then got access to occupational therapy in college which was amazing. They did not mention that it only lasts for the academic term, which means that once summer rolls around or there is a break, the services essentially end. I went through having my best year in college because someone was sitting down with me and helping me through things for the first time in my life to having to go through a summer with barely any routine. I tried to get so many jobs. There was one particular job and while I cannot prove discrimination, I can tell I was turned away because they figured out I was autistic. I had chose to not disclose because my occupational therapist said it was probably not worthwhile because I would not be able to prove if they used it against me.

I feel like I could have been identified much earlier if any of my teachers had known what was going on. In school I am compliant - I guess that is the best word - and I would do what I was told. I would do my homework on time but then when I went home my parents basically had a different child.

I could not cope with anything after school. My mum sat with me to do my homework most of my life. She came to nearly all of my appointments until I was 19 because I needed that support and I was not going to get it anywhere else. I am lucky that my parents are sufficiently financially privileged that my mum could do that but that is not the case for other people and there is no support for them. I do not know what else to say.