Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
Books

Libby Scott: 'My autism diagnosis stopped me hating myself'

An autism diagnosis allowed Libby Scott to finally understand herself. Since then she's written three books to share her experiences. She says a diagnosis is nothing to be scared of.

In 2018, Libby Scott went viral after her mum posted some of her writing about autism on Twitter. The next year, she wrote Can You See Me? about an autistic girl called Tally navigating school and her social life, co-written with YA author Rebecca Westcott. Now 14, Libby is publishing her third book, focused on the process of getting a diagnosis. She tells The Big Issue about the life-changing experience. 

The Big Issue: When you look back, are there things that make more sense after you had a diagnosis? 

Libby Scott: Well, for me it was mainly the feeling that I was somehow different to everyone else and I just didn’t know why. Also I now know what “demand avoidance” is. Somebody would tell me to do something and I felt almost physically incapable of doing it, unless they asked me in a very specific, less abrupt tone. 

When you talked with doctors, did they seem to understand? 

The first doctor we saw thought that parenting was likely the root of the problem instead of autism. They sent my parents on a course, which they didn’t mind, but I knew it was about me more than them. My mum asked if I had Pathological Demand Avoidance, which is an autism trait I have. That doctor just said, “Oh there’s no such thing really, you’ve just seen that on the TV, haven’t you?” 

Advertisement
Advertisement

Then my parents paid to go to the Lorna Wing, which specialises in diagnosing autistic girls. They spent hours speaking to my parents, believed what they said, and then hours speaking with me, too. They seemed to understand autism a lot better. It’s a shame my parents had to pay to get that – what about kids whose parents can’t? 

1472 Health
Libby Scott Photo: PR supplied

What were these conversations like?

They got me really relaxed and chatted to me. I enjoyed it actually, though I was nervous before. They mostly just asked me questions about what I find hard and things like that. They had me do a memory test where they said a list of numbers and I had to repeat them backwards, which I did quite well. 

When you received the diagnosis how did you feel? 

I remember being told about the results of the process and they told me that they were certain I had autism spectrum disorder. It didn’t exactly take me by surprise, but it was quite a strange time for me because there were worries, like me thinking people would treat me differently, and that I’d get bullied for it. But I also was quite relieved that I now knew, because it meant people could also understand me better and I could understand myself at long last. When I got diagnosed it was like a weight off my shoulders. It gave me a reason why I felt and behaved the way I did. I could really know who I was at last. Getting diagnosed stopped me hating myself because I understood myself better and didn’t have that constant question in my mind asking why I was like this.

Autism affects people in different ways. Does it help you understand your own – and other autistic people’s – behaviour?

Now that I have that label it actually helps me with finding solutions to my problems. I can spot and connect well with people with ADHD and autism – it’s like a special gang that I wasn’t a part of before.

What would you want other parents to know if they are concerned about their child and wondering if they should take them to a doctor? 

I would 100 per cent go for it, it will always be better in the long run to know who you are. If I didn’t have my diagnosis I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s always the better option to look into it as much as you can at a young age.

What would you want other autistic kids – who may or may not have an official diagnosis – to know about what you’ve learned?

Just know you’re not alone – there’s always someone either going through the emotions you are, or who can help you in different ways. There are Facebook groups that you or your parents can join, lots of TikTok videos, and books like mine and Rebecca’s, which can help you and others to understand you. Plus the PDA society [for Pathological Demand Avoidance] and the National Autistic Society.

A diagnosis doesn’t define someone, so tell us more about yourself…

If you saw me in school you probably wouldn’t think I was autistic and that’s why girls get missed for diagnosis. That’s because of everyone else’s perspective and stereotypes of autism and what they imagine it looks like. But I have a lot of things that I enjoy doing like hanging out with friends, horse riding, singing and song-writing. When somebody’s diagnosed it’s nothing to be afraid of, you are just the same as before but now you know why.

Ways to Be Me by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott is out now from Scholastic 

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout review – small-town secrets
Books

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout review – small-town secrets

Recognising the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative review – a clear-eyed meditation
Review

Recognising the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative review – a clear-eyed meditation

Author Matt Haig: 'I was a teenage shoplifter. In my foolish brain I was a kind of Robin Hood'
Matt Haig
Letter To My Younger Self

Author Matt Haig: 'I was a teenage shoplifter. In my foolish brain I was a kind of Robin Hood'

Top 5 books about friendship, chosen by author Marianne Cronin
Books

Top 5 books about friendship, chosen by author Marianne Cronin

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know