"The Story of My Invalidation - Finally An Autism Diagnosis"
By Kathryn McNamara 

     I always felt different. I never knew why. I never felt like I belonged on the west side of town - everyone there treated me like a total alien. I had an IEP, but still felt just like other neurotypical people. Just about everyone in my family had a disability, but not me - I felt like I was supposed to compensate for it all. 

     I was ostracized at every school I went to from elementary to high school. School was my holocaust and I had to grin and bear it. I was the Kaia of Where The Craw Dads Sing everywhere I went - I always felt like a total misfit. The "plastics" at my high school would move their seat from me like I was a disease and call me names. I just had to suffer through it - no one ever heard my voice. Maybe if they knew I had autism they would have included me, rather than ostracized me.

     My twin brother, who has autism, was embraced and accepted for who he was. Why couldn’t I be? At 28, I finally have an answer to why I was never seen as normal. 

     I write this story for justice for myself. For the war I went through. I was one heck of a tough nut. I never cried for myself. I just carried on. Maybe to all those who looked down on me, you can finally gain some empathy for how you maltreated me. I see myself as one heck of a fighter. I finally have an answer to who I am.
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Siblings with a Mission is a non-profit, international organization established to serve and support siblings of individuals with complex health conditions and developmental disabilities. All images are found on Google images and are solely used for educational purposes. The stories and advice provided by Siblings with a Mission are not to be replaced by professional advice and counseling but to be considered as an additional source of support.