I am autistic (late-diagnosed) and finally told my brothers this week with the help of my fiance (I needed his objective mind to break the ice. I took over from there). I didn't tell them when I found out because my older sister overdosed on alcohol and benzodiazapines around that same time, and was in the ICU for weeks. I suppose I waited so long because my twin sister is also autistic, but more overtly so along with multiple birth defects. (She has lived with our grandmother since infancy). So my family's only reference point for how autism presents itself is her. I was scared that they'd view me as less than or they'd deny it and me altogether. But to my honest surprise, they embraced me.

This is something I have been wanting needing to do for a while because I really do need their acceptance at the very least. So, we're all going to try and work on our communication with each other since we live 300 miles apart and I have no friends or family close by.