The Late-Diagnosed Diaries:
Biweekly-ish musings of a late-discovered autistic writer. Educational explanations, critical explorations, vulnerable realizations, and a teeny little dash of feminist rage.
What should I expect if I subscribe?
Biweekly-ish posts, sent via email when they’re published.
Educational explanations about the autistic experience, especially the late—diagnosed experience and the female autistic experience—and autism in general
Critical explorations of why so many women go undiagnosed, and why that sucks
Vulnerable realizations as I reflect on the 31 years I spent undiagnosed
Intentional deviations from prescriptive grammar, style, and punctuation. (It’s my diary, and I’ll use run-on sentences laced with parentheticals and em-dashes and italicized words with repetitive letters for maaaajor emphasis if I want to.)
Zero-tolerance for discriminatory nonsense, especially any eugenics-adjacent discussion about “curing” or “preventing” autism. (BIG yikes.)
Can I access everything as a free subscriber?
Yep. Every last post.
I know that many autistic and other neurodivergent folks (diagnosed, suspected, or otherwise) are unemployed or underemployed, and might struggle to pay for access, and that would make me feel realllly icky.
So why should I pay to subscribe, then?
Honestly? Because I haven’t yet figured out how to escape the crushing grips of capitalism and ya girl gots bills to pay.
But in all seriousness: Any pledges from those who are able to pay to subscribe help support my continued writing (both of this newsletter and the forthcoming book on the same topic), and empower me to continue advocating on behalf of autistic women online and on stage.
Wait, whose diary am I reading?
Oh yeah… That would be good to know, wouldn’t it?
👋 Hi. I’m Melanie Deziel.
The Late Diagnosed Diaries is my passion project, but by day, I’m an autistic journalist-turned-marketer who speaks about creativity and content creation on stages around the world. I’ve got a husband and a daughter and a cat, and an unhealthy attachment to the ritual of drinking coffee, even though I can only drink decaf. I have a lot of partially complete craft projects and even more yet-unread books.
If you want to know more about me, you can check out my website, connect with me on Linkedin, follow me on threads, and find me on Instagram.
I’ve written two business books, “The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas” and “Prove It: Exactly How Modern Marketers Earn Trust,” and I run a mastermind for creatives called Creator Kitchen.
