I’m autistic for reference. It’s a thing for people to “become more autistic” after their diagnosis. There are a bunch of different reasons for this but I think a lot of it is feeling like you don’t have to mask anymore, which is great, but there’s a period of not really knowing who you are or how you want to present yourself anymore. Most of us eventually find a balance between our true selves and our masked selves. Autistic or not there are things we all need to do to be a part of a functioning society and we can’t just do, act, or say whatever we want.

I don’t know how you should handle your friend but they’re obviously going through some sort of identity crisis. You said yourself you think the diagnosis is accurate so it’s not like they’re making things up. I’m sure they’ll figure things it out in time. You’re allowed to have your own needs and boundaries though so do what you need to do while they figure it out. Maybe just make sure they understand you’re not abandoning them.

I belive Canada just made it super easy for anyone who has a Canadian ancestor to get citizenship, even multiple generations ago. Might check your family tree.

I seem to chronically date in the former category.