Late-Diagnosis Grief and the Courage to Unmask in Corporate Spaces

Elena, thank you for sharing this so candidly. Late-diagnosis grief is a very real, documented stage in neurodivergent identity formation. In my clinical work, we view unmasking not as an all-or-nothing leap, but as gradual 'micro-unmasking'—starting with safe colleagues and low-stakes boundary phrases.

Completely agree with Sky. I started by wearing loop earplugs openly in the office without over-explaining. Normalizing sensory needs helped my team realize it's just scaffolding, like wearing glasses.