Imagine the relief and disbelief of receiving a diagnosis at 42 for a condition that had shaped your entire childhood and had gone unrecognized for most of your life.<\/p>\n
Tyler Barnett of California experienced exactly that when he was diagnosed with autism at the age of 42.
\nSpeaking to People, he explained that this diagnosis changed everything because he lived his life \u201cfeeling like an imposter.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a child, many considered him to be gifted, but at the same time, doctors diagnosed with a bunch of mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. In fact, even Tyler himself, who works as a public relations specialist, tried to figure out what was going on with his brain most of his life.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t until April 13, 2026, when he was officially diagnosed with level 1 autism and Attention-Deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For him, it was the exact moment things fell into place.<\/p>\n
Prior to the diagnosis, Tyler felt like he was looking on his own life from the outside, feeling a gap between him and those around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was watching a group of kids link arms and jump up and down and laugh\u2026they were doing something from a movie I hadn\u2019t seen or something. I was on the outside just watching,\u201d he told People, recalling a childhood memory. \u201cI didn\u2019t really understand why they were doing that or why it was fun, but I felt like I didn\u2019t get it or didn\u2019t know how to fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadly, that feeling didn\u2019t go away with time. Instead, it stuck with him throughout his adult life, too. Others advised him to try and blend in, which wasn\u2019t an easy thing to do.<\/p>\n
For the sake of fitting in, he started pretending in order to \u201cmake other people comfortable around me.\u201d For him, that meant copying other people\u2019s behaviors, something that simply didn\u2019t come naturally to him.<\/p>\n
Eventually, this led to something known as a \u201csecond nature,\u201d and he no longer felt like himself.<\/p>\n
Over the years, he sought help from therapists, but none of them got to the bottom of the problem he\u2019s been facing his entire life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a lot of therapists, and the thing about therapy is you can\u2019t therapize yourself out of autism,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can talk about your life and your problems and your parents, etc., but this is not seeing the forest for the trees. So while therapy was helpful, it actually pulled me further from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The therapies he has received throughout the years, including anxiety, depression, and even bipolar disorder, only pulled him away from the real cause of why he was experiencing what he had been experiencing.<\/p>\n
\u201cInternally, I was in so much pain, exhausted, confused, scared and hiding it all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Following the autism diagnosis, Tyler took to social media, where he has a TikTok page under the username @millenialdad, and shared in an emotional video: \u201cToday I found out that I\u2019m autistic and I have ADHD\u2026I always have, and nothing\u2019s wrong with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been mislabeled and mismedicated, and misdiagnosed. I have tried to figure this out myself and I\u2019m so relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyler Barnett
\nWith the diagnosis came the relief because that constant need that he needed \u201cfixing\u201d faded away. \u201cI couldn\u2019t fix myself no matter what I did \u2014 and I tried a lot, for a long time,\u201d he admitted. \u201cAnd now I know there is nothing to fix\u2026I am a zebra, not a broken horse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, he was taken off the meds for bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I get back to my true self, I can see clearly I am perfect as I am. The world just couldn\u2019t meet me where I was,\u201d he shared with People. \u201cBecause when you understand autism and ADHD for exactly what they are, they can stop becoming a disability and become a superpower.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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