Constructed to a Different Pattern

When Julie Stevens was first diagnosed with autism, she wanted to read and understand as much as possible – particularly around the emotional impact of diagnosis. However, there didn’t seem to be much out there for people like Julie, diagnosed later in life and already with an established life and career. Julie didn’t know whether what she was feeling and experiencing was usual, or whether she was an outlier. Struggling to accept her diagnosis and its implications, Julie started writing. This book is the result: an open and honest account of the first year after an autism diagnosis. This book takes you on a whistlestop tour of how Julie coped with some of the limitations the diagnosis placed upon her and came to her own conclusions about what it means to live life on the autism spectrum, with all the joys and challenges that can bring. But most of all, it’s a book about coming to terms with a label that can change your life, even if that’s not what you were expecting at the outset.