(Probably) Disclosing for the First Time Tomorrow

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So far, I've only disclosed my autism diagnosis to my counselor and ALP coordinator, but I plan to tell a friend for the first time tomorrow.

I get that a lot of you have horror stories of disclosure and would tell me just to shut up and feign neurotypicality. I heard that plenty of times on another forum when I brought up the topic of disclosure several weeks ago. But I trust this person and think the pros outweigh the cons, so I'm just looking for encouragement and any advice other than "don't disclose."

Ever since I got my diagnosis, I've wanted to vent about it to this person. He's an old friend of mine from elementary school, and we've both trusted each other with significant secrets before. Also, he's openly ADHD and his parents are teachers who are very informed and accepting of neurodiversity. I could go on and on about the reasons I trust this guy with the info, but you get the gist.

Unless I chicken out, I plan to tell this friend about my diagnosis tomorrow night at a sleepover. We almost always end up having deep conversations when it gets late, so I figured this would be the perfect time to tell him about my differences and the recent epiphany of diagnosis. With it being Thanksgiving break too, we'll both have several days alone after the conversation to reflect before going back to school together.

The biggest challenges I anticipate are bringing up the topic and working up the courage to spill the tea. I'll probably start by talking about my autistic strengths and struggles that he already knows about but hasn't yet tied together, and then connect the dots and reveal the diagnosis. Alternatively, I could start by introducing the fact that I was recently diagnosed with something, explain the strengths and struggles caused by my neurodivergence, and then reveal what that diagnosis is.

I'm pretty nervous about this conversation, but I'm also really excited. Knowing about this friend's ADHD has helped me understand and help him in so many ways, and I hope his knowledge of my autism will do the same. If you guys have any pieces of advice or words of encouragement, I'd love to hear them. If you wanna tell me not to do this, no one's gonna stop you, but after all this anticipation, the only thing that'll stop me from disclosing is my own anxiety.

Thanks for reading this, and have a great Thanksgiving! (Unless you don't celebrate Thanksgiving; then just have a great ordinary Thursday!)

You have best Thanksgiving you can thursday too....
Really hope the disclosure goes as planned .! .. Friends can be hard to find , you sound as if you know this person well.
Hope ,the friendship is strong enough to endure this.. but , if you just continue to be yourself , perhaps it could even strengthen a friendship , if you two can accept each other as you are....Good Luck .

Hope this goes well for you. I absolutely won't tell you not to disclose. I know some people have had bad experiences with disclosure, but for one thing I think it's very different for young people, especially if the person you're disclosing to is also neurodivergent, and most importantly, someone isn't your friend unless you can be yourself around them.

Good luck!