In this meeting of The Late Diagnosis Club, Dr Angela Kingdon welcomes Julie M. Green, a writer, Autistic mother, and late-identified Autistic woman whose self-recognition unfolded through parenting. Julie’s story begins not with her own diagnosis, but with her son’s. As she learned how to support an Autistic child, she slowly began to recognise familiar patterns in herself — sensory sensitivity, rigidity, perfectionism, chronic illness, and lifelong shyness that had always been framed as personality flaws rather than neurodivergence.
Together, Angela and Julie explore maternal guilt, masking across decades, self- and formal diagnosis, and what changes — and what doesn’t — when you finally have language for your nervous system.
🪑 Attendees
Chair: Dr Angela Kingdon — Author, community-builder, and Autistic advocate
Guest: Julie M. Green — Autistic writer, Author, and mother
You: The Listener!
🗒️ Meeting Agenda
🧾 Minutes from the Meeting
1️⃣ Opening Remarks
Angela introduces Julie as a member whose story begins in a paediatrician’s office — not for herself, but for her son. What started as advocacy and research quickly became a mirror, reflecting traits Julie had carried since childhood but never had language for.
2️⃣ Member Introduction: Julie’s Story
Julie grew up in the 1970s and 80s as a highly anxious, perfectionistic, and extremely shy child. Changes in routine triggered meltdowns, collections were rigidly organised, and sensory sensitivities shaped daily life — all framed at the time as personality flaws or the result of being an only child.
In school, Julie was quiet, compliant, and high-achieving. Anxiety and perfectionism were invisible to teachers, while internal distress went unnamed.
Years later, as a first-time mother, Julie struggled with sensory overload, shutdowns, and intense guilt. When her son was diagnosed with autism at age three, Julie immersed herself in research — first to support him, and eventually to understand herself.
3️⃣ Discussion Highlights
4️⃣ Key Learnings
📌 Notice Board
Link for Julie’s book: Motherness: A Memoir of Generational Autism, Parenthood, and Radical Acceptance
Julie’s Substack: https://theautisticmom.substack.com/
📣 Club Announcements
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