The next time somebody gives you shit about your late autism diagnosis, remember that Anthony Hopkins was diagnosed as autistic when he was 70 years old.
People can go almost their whole lives and never know they’re autistic, but recognize they feel different from their peers.
And BTW Anthony Hopkins stims by rubbing his hands together, and being autistic is exactly why he’s such a good actor. He studies people’s mannerisms with an analytical mind, adopts those mannerisms for characters and turns out awesome performances. He’s a chameleon.
And he’s one of us, autistic community.
This is also important as a reminder that, while most mainstream discussion of autism focuses on autistic children, autism doesn’t magically go away when you become an adult. Many autistic adults are less visibly neurodivergent than we were when we were children. That doesn’t mean that we’ve become neurotypical. We’ve simply learned through years of experience how to act in a way that society deems “normal.” A surface-level change in behavior does not necessarily reflect a fundamental change in the way we think and perceive the world.
pnkrathian 