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“It's okay to be different" - mum opens up after autism diagnosis at 50

“It's okay to be different" - mum opens up after autism diagnosis at 50 <i>(Image: Public)</i>
“It's okay to be different" - mum opens up after autism diagnosis at 50 (Image: Public)

A mum of two has opened up about being diagnosed with autism at the age of 50 after always feeling like she was “different”.

Trudy Devine grew up in Halliwell and went to Smithills School.

She recalled the time that she was referred to a psychologist at school, and when she would be called “special”.

Before finding out she had autism, Trudy went through a period of being misdiagnosed with depression and says that at the time not much was known about autism.

Trudy said: “When I was in school, they referred me because of my obsession with John Lennon and The Beatles.

“I could recite their words but couldn’t pass some exams.

“I don’t think autism was as well-known back then.”

Once she left school Trudy worked her way up as a conveyance paralegal in the Horwich area after completing the equivalent at the time to an apprenticeship.

She says people could not understand how she could quote certain things word for word.

She added: “If something interests me, I can remember it all and I am Professor Trudy.

“I knew I was different and wasn’t like other people.

“I felt like I just didn’t fit in.

“Now I feel as though I’m not stupid.

“But I have had to fight for it all throughout my life.

“This has given me a bit of closure because I know who I am now.”

She had always felt different because she found it more difficult to make friends and found it hard to handle social settings.

Trudy added: “I knew from primary school I was different because I struggled with the basics but could recite things from 1960.

“I think not knowing is really hard because I now understand why I find it difficult to make friends, but it has taken years of not knowing.

“I found it difficult to make friends, but when I got to work, I could do things so confidently.

“In social settings I couldn’t handle it.”

Now that Trudy has been diagnosed, she wants to raise awareness for people who are also being diagnosed late.

She is also considering joining some groups and believes there are many more waiting for that diagnosis.

She said: “I’m sure there are a lot of us around.

“It can’t just be me.

“But because I am not a child there isn’t much for me.

“It has made me understand my difficulties a lot better.

“I do feel better about myself now.”

Some of the things that interest Trudy includes music by Pitbull and anything from the 1960s.

She is even learning Spanish so she can understand what he is saying in his songs.

Trudy said: “I have no clue what he is saying so I want to learn Spanish.”

Trudy has two children Gemma, 26 and Luke, 23, who has asperges and has completed his degree in computer science at the University of Bolton.

She said: “It's okay to be different.”

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