I love this gal's perspective, with ANY misconceptions about diagnosis of any sort. Not just Autism. Diagnosis is NOT labeling and stigmatized biases. Sure it was allowed to go in that direction under the control of insurance companies and pharma herding the medical institution. But we have been advocating and educating our hearts out for decades now and are finally seeing a different landscape within the medical and mental health institutions. Now it is to get the messages across to the masses who have also bought into the nonsense.
Your diagnosis does NOT define you. It is not your identity. You are foremost a human with a certain set of identifiers that helps explain how and why things may be different as compared to some elusive "norm." It is part of the puzzle that makes you unique. It also gives you a perspective from which to more effectively move forward and to better communicate your needs and uniqueness. It is only a label and a pigeon hole if you allow it. Own it and use it to your advantage and it can become a very powerful ally in your recovery, healing, and growth journey.