Hello! Thanks for stopping by. I’m Glenn – The Unmasked Autistic (person).
Here are some stats: I’m short (168 cm), bald (the first thing my wife said when she saw the icon for The Unmasked Autistic (that brown fella to my right) was, “Hey, he has hair”), and I wear glasses (but only when I need to see where I’m going). What’s more, at the end of 2022, just a few months before I turned 52, I learnt that I’m Autistic.
In hindsight, my Autism diagnosis makes a lot of sense. While I wish I’d learnt about it 30 or 40 years earlier, it is somehow liberating to finally have a reason for why I’ve always felt like I never quite belonged and why I’ve always struggled – with everything – despite what it might have looked like from the outside.
Why did I start this blog?
The Unmasked Autistic is a blog I decided to write because writing has always been the way I’ve tried to make sense of the world, and right now I’ve got a lot to try and make sense of.
I hope other Autistic people (particularly late-diagnosed Autistic people like me) will be able to relate to and learn from the stories I tell here and the advice that I give as I learn more about what being Autistic is, how it has shaped me, and how it has (without me even knowing it) dictated much of my life’s direction.
Hopefully, (particularly if you’re not Autistic) we will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of just what Autism is, and, importantly, what it isn’t.
Ultimately, I want this blog to help empower other late-diagnosed Autistic adults on their Autistic journeys, and, do my (small) bit to raise awareness about the Autistic community through my lived experiences.
More about Glenn
For more than three decades I’ve been writing, teaching, and advocating – for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for people newly arrived to Australia, for farmers and the agriculture industry – each a minority group that needed help spreading the word about who they are and the role they play in our society.
My wife (who has asked to remain anonymous) and my son (who said I can use his name but I’ve decided I won’t) will no doubt get a mention along the way on these pages – because, well, they’re just so damn lovely.
How you can connect
I can’t thank you enough for joining me. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Please comment, like, or email on this website as you see fit – but please do so respectfully. I do bruise easily.
If I don’t reply to your message right away, please know that it isn’t you, it’s me. I need a lot of down time these days, so I might be convalescing in front of the box, in the garden, or clocking steps up on the old counter as I walk the streets where I live.
How you can help
Each of the articles I write for this website take time and effort, and your support can make a real difference in helping to keep this content flowing. If you’ve read a post you enjoyed and would like to read more articles in the future, please consider donating a small amount to help me cover the costs of running this website.
I’m not in this to get rich (and trust me, I won’t! 😉), but your contribution helps sustain the effort that goes into crafting fresh, Autism-friendly content. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Read more about why your support means so support.
Final thoughts
If I ever write anything here that makes you uncomfortable, that is triggering, I apologise. While I want this blog to be honest, I certainly don’t mean to ever offend.
I am self deprecating by nature though, which means I’m apt to point that same lens at others as I try to make sense of the world and where Autistic Glenn fits in.
I also don’t want everything I write here to be heavy every time, or only ever serious – I know I couldn’t stand that.
So thank you again for joining me. If you never want to miss anything I write, be sure to add your email address to one of the ‘subscribe’ boxes and click submit. 😊
Please note that although everything on this website is well-researched or based on personal experience, I am not a health professional (in case you hadn’t already guessed!). Always contact a qualified, registered health professional for medical advice.