How Michael Discovered He Was Autistic After Years of Anxiety Misdiagnosis
In this meeting of The Late Diagnosis Club, Dr Angela Kingdon welcomes Michael Kelly, a late-diagnosed Autistic artist and recent PhD graduate whose work explores how art can help us think about thin
In this meeting of The Late Diagnosis Club, Dr Angela Kingdon welcomes Michael Kelly, a late-diagnosed Autistic artist and recent PhD graduate in design whose work explores how art can help us think about thinking.
Michael’s path to diagnosis began unexpectedly during his wife Susie’s autism assessment. After sitting in on several sessions as her carer, the clinician suggested that Michael pursue an assessment as well, leading to his own diagnosis a year later.
Together, Angela and Michael explore childhood solitude and special interests, creative practice as a way of understanding the mind, and how art can disrupt the systems that shape our thinking.
🎧 Listen to this episode:
🪑 Attendees
Chair: Dr Angela Kingdon — Author, community-builder, and Autistic advocate
Guest: Michael Kelly — Autistic artist, designer, and researcher
You: The Listener!
🗒️ Meeting Agenda
Opening remarks from the Chair
Member introduction: Growing up as the “weird kid” and finding refuge in books and ideas
Discussion: Philosophy, art practice, and early adult burnout
Psychosis, misdiagnosis, and years labelled as anxiety
Autistic masking, sensory overwhelm, and family patterns
Art as inquiry: performance, sculpture, and metacognition
Artificial intelligence, normativity, and the role of artists
Key learnings
Club announcements
🧾 Minutes from the Meeting
1️⃣ Opening Remarks
Angela introduces Michael Kelly, a late-diagnosed Autistic artist and newly minted PhD graduate whose research explores how art can help us understand thinking itself, particularly in the context of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.
2️⃣ Member Introduction: Michael’s Story
Michael describes growing up as “the weird kid,” finding comfort in solitary interests like books, dinosaurs, comics, and drawing. As an only child, he often retreated into imagination and reflection. Experiences that, in hindsight, align with Autistic ways of engaging with the world.
After studying philosophy at Durham University in the UK, Michael pursued creative work and eventually a career in advertising before experiencing severe burnout and psychosis in his mid-20s. For years afterwards, he lived under an anxiety diagnosis without understanding the deeper neurodivergent context behind his experiences.
3️⃣ Discussion Highlights
Only-child solitude: Safe space for imagination, reading, and deep thinking
Early interests: Dinosaurs, comics, drawing, theology, and philosophy
Advertising burnout: Workplace pressure and sensory overload leading to psychosis
Misdiagnosis: Years labelled with anxiety before autism was considered
Partner recognition: Sitting in on Susie’s autism assessment sparked Michael’s own
Masking and sensory overwhelm: Eye contact, social performance, and inherited patterns
Art as inquiry: Performance art, sculpture, and artistic experiments exploring the mind
Metacognition: Using art to examine how humans think about thinking
AI and normativity: Concerns about artificial intelligence reinforcing “average” thinking
4️⃣ Key Learnings
Late discovery often begins with recognition by someone close to us.
Years of anxiety or other diagnoses can obscure underlying neurodivergence.
Creative practice can become a powerful tool for understanding internal experience.
Masking and sensory overwhelm often shape lifelong coping strategies.
Artists may play an important role in questioning the systems and technologies shaping our future.
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🎙️ Executive Producers
Amy Burns, Anamaria B Call, Andrew Banner, Anna Goodson, Ashley Apelzin, Audrea Volker, Ben Coulson, Brian Churcek, Cappy Hamper, Carley Biblin, Charlene Deva, Chloe Cross, Clay Duhigg, Clayton Oliver, Danny Dunn, Daria Brown, David Garrido, Emily Burgess, Eric Crane, Erik Stenerud, Fiona Baker, Grace Norman, Helen Shaddock, Jaimie Collins, Jason Killian, Jen Unruh, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Tretter, Kathie Watson-Gray, Kenneth Knowles, Kira Cotter, Kristine Lang, Kyle Raney, Llew P Williams, Laura Alvarado, Laura De Vito, Laura Provonsha, Lily George, Nelly Darmi, Nigel Rogers, Rachel Miller, Tim Scott, Tyler Kunz, Victoria Steed, Yanina Wood.
🎧 Producers
AJ Knight, Bobby Simon, Da Kovac, Eleanor Collins, Emily Griffiths, Hannah Hughes, Jennifer Kemp, Jonas Fløde, Kate F, Katie N Benitez, Kendra Murphy, Lisa Dennys, Logan Wall, Louise Lomas, Melissa Nance, Nicola Owen, Rebecka Johansson, Sam Morris, Sarah Hannah Morris.