Irish student credits late autism diagnosis for academic success

Saraid Greene, a 19-year-old student at University College Cork, has been diagnosed with autism. The late diagnosis provided her with a framework to understand decades of social anxiety and school refusal that began when she was nine years old.

Greene attended school in Kilkenny, Ireland, where she struggled to fit in. She recalled playing tag at age five or six and being repeatedly chosen to be it. She felt different but could not explain why peers treated her differently. For years, she believed something was fundamentally wrong with her. Her twin sister and older sister found school easier, and Greene relied on her twin to navigate social experiences she could not manage alone.

As Greene entered secondary school, she began masking her autistic traits to appear neurotypical. She described this process as suppressing her natural behavior to fit social expectations. At age 12, her parents took her to a psychiatrist who suggested she might be autistic after she described feeling burned out from constant acting. The psychiatrist noted that her experiences were textbook examples of autism.

Greene had several indicators she did not recognize at the time. She collected items from a young age, had special interests, and was a fussy eater who could not tolerate certain food textures. Loud noises overwhelmed her, leading her to wear earmuffs in class for a full year during primary school. Despite these signs, she was not formally diagnosed until she was 16.

The delay in diagnosis was partly due to her initial mental health crisis and the subsequent lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. Greene was initially skeptical of an autism diagnosis because the only representations she saw were of men with high support needs. At school, she had been told autism involved children getting upset if food touched on a plate.

After her assessment, clinicians recommended she move schools or take time away. Returning to her previous school after the pandemic was difficult because she felt excluded from her small year group. An outsider began sending her insulting messages, causing further distress. Her twin sister moved to a different school, and Greene began homeschooling before eventually joining her sister at the new institution.

Greene described the atmosphere at her new school as friendly and kind. She performed well in her Leaving Cert exams and secured her first choice course at University College Cork. She is now studying biological, environmental, and geological sciences.

Greene appears in a documentary titled Neurodivergence, The Making of Me, which airs on RTÉ One this Thursday. The program is presented by occupational therapist and disability advocate Hannah Daly. It examines the lived experiences of neurodivergent people in Ireland and the historical misidentification of autistic and ADHD individuals.

Greene said the diagnosis did not magically improve her life but allowed her to access supports that have helped her. She advised parents of children refusing to go to school to remove pressure and recognize that the school itself may not be the core issue. She emphasized that children are acting on real fears and anxieties, not to inconvenience their families. She believes that with the right support, children can find success similar to her own.