How to be a Human Being in the World with Dr. Kathleen Young
How to be a Human Being in the World with Dr. Kathleen Young
What If It's You: Masking, High IQ, and Late-Diagnosed Autism
Most people don’t start out wondering if they’re autistic.
You probably didn’t either. But maybe you've started to notice some patterns. Maybe the idea of “masking” hits a little too close. Maybe you’ve always felt a bit out of sync, like everyone else got a manual you missed.
In this episode, Dr. Kathleen Young sits down with her friend and colleague, Sade Curry, for a deeply honest conversation about what it’s like to suddenly question how your brain works. Sade shares her experience of going through a formal autism spectrum assessment as an adult, and the years of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and social exhaustion that led her there.
If you’ve ever felt like you're performing a version of yourself just to fit in, or if you've spent most of your life wondering why certain things feel so hard when they should be easy, this episode will speak to you.
Inside this episode, you’ll hear:
- What “masking” really looks like in everyday life
- How high-achieving, gifted adults can fly under the radar for decades
- What it feels like to be “too much” in some rooms and “not enough” in others
- How masking, culture, childhood dynamics, and social expectations can all intersect
- Why getting a diagnosis isn’t always about needing a label, but about understanding yourself more clearly
Sade also shares what it’s like to be building a business while navigating these questions, and how self-accommodation and self-compassion are becoming central to how she lives and works.
Contact Sade:
Work with Sade: http://sadecurry.com/schedule-appointment
Podcast: http://sadecurry.com/podcast or Apple Podcasts
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadecurry/