10 Traits of Autism in Women you might not know

I'd love to post more frequently on this channel because I have WAY too many ideas! To make the possible, I've started a Patreon. If you join, you'll get get 2 exclusive videos a month and access to the Discord server, even on the lowest tier:

This is the second part of my three-part series about signs of autism (I say women in the title, but these could apply to any individual of any gender!) This one is about sensory differences you MAY experience as an autistic individual such as noticing small sounds everyone around you seems oblivious or indifferent to and struggles with your fine motor skills.

Part 1 about social differences:

Part 3 about emotional experiences & interests:

I really hope this is helpful/useful to you in some way. Thank you so much for taking to the time to watch! Feel free to make requests for future videos in the comments below.

DISCLAIMER: I am a second-year psychology student and a late-diagnosed #actuallyautistic individual. I am not a qualified healthcare professional.

Sources:

Finding the True Number of Females with Autistic Spectrum Disorder by Estimating the Biases in Initial Recognition and Clinical Diagnosis (2022):

The art of camouflage: Gender differences in the social behaviors of girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder:

AQ10:

The Greenwood Institute Video on Managing Sensory Problems:

The National Autistic Society on Sensory Differences:

Autistic traits, emotion regulation, and sensory sensitivities in children and adults with Misophonia (2022):

A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions (2011):

Sensory Integration in Autism Spectrum Disorders By Cindy Hatch-Rasmussen:

Visual Snow on EyeWiki:

YouTube channels mentioned:

Olivia Hops:

Woodshed Theory:

Paige Layle:

*Books I'd Recommend about Autism:

Different not Less by Chloe Hayden (read if you want to cry):

Aspergirls by Rudy Simone:

*Links with a star are affiliate links. The channel will receive a small commission if you buy anything on Amazon after clicking through with this link. There's no extra cost to you and any money will go towards putting out more content. I'd love to post twice a week and put more time into research for these videos. Thank you so much - I really appreciate every like and comment!

*Links with a star are affiliate links. The channel will receive a small commission if you buy anything on Amazon after clicking through with this link. There's no extra cost to you and any money will go towards putting out more content. I'd love to post twice a week and put more time into research for these videos. Thank you so much - I really appreciate everyone sharing their stories in the comments.

[imautisticnowwhat]

I've posted my video about what autistic masking feels like from the inside (from my perspective, a few studies and articles, and the many other anecdotes I've read from the autistic community online):

[lyndeecebulla]

The main difference between sudden loud noises and listening to loud music to unwind is your control over the noise.

[malena]

Don't mind me just marking this for later

1:12 - Food aversions
5:13 - You notice small noises
7:47 - Strong dislike for loud noises
9:09 - Music makes you feel a lot
11:28 - Strong sense of smell
13:03 - Tactile defensiveness
15:28 - Propioception differences
17:18 - Sensitivity to light
19:11 - Visual snow
20:41 - An appreciation for the natural world

[kzebkun]

i am autistic but my parents still seem to think that i "choose" to be this way and say that "i could simply stop" or "choose to not let these things effect me" if i really wanted. for years i felt like i was a brat and ungrateful and horrible but i realize now that i dont have to apologize or feel that way. im autistic. this is how i am. im not a brat, im not ungrateful, im simply different. if your parents treat you the same then please know that they are just ignorant!!!

[Harley]

The light touching! I always say, if you are going to touch me then really touch me. Light touches make my skin crawl.

[barbarasunday]

My daughter was assessed as autistic at 21. I can't believe all the things I, her mother..am only now learning about her. We were at church recently and she made a list of 20 + noises she heard clearly during the sermon...I only heard one or two besides the speaker. And I saw the food reactions so many times!

[Nami-dqox]

My sensory issues are not that bad, but I've been comparing myself to people who can't use public transport without having a meltdown rather than to most people. Absolutely pre-emptively covered my ears around balloons as a kid. I thought hearing all the little sounds in exam conditions was normal. The sounds that are most agitating to me are when a car is just sitting with the engine revving, or audio coming from a phone/tablet/laptop. Even when I'm alone I listen to my own audio using headphones rather than the laptop speakers. But I most commonly get sensory overload from multiple sounds happening at once.

[lizstokes]

I don't think I would enjoy a neurotypical brain swap experience.
I'm so lucky that my entire childhood was spent on a farm, it was such a relief from all the noise at school, etc. Moved to a small city at 17 for college, stayed for 20 yrs and hated every single sound and smell about it (ironic when I realize the smells and sounds related to farm animals, somehow they didn't bother me).
I went back to country living 7 yrs ago and I LOVE IT!!! Everything I love about it, is exactly what all my neurotypical visitors dislike and (negatively) comment on.
"You're so far away from everything and everyone"
"It's dead quiet"
"It's so dark at night"
All of those comments would end with them saying, "idk how you can live alone way out here"
And I'm over here, bouncing around, singing and dancing in pure bliss because I'm so far away from everything that's over stimulating. I can choose my own noise (such as loud music 🤘 without bothering anyone else) instead of constant sirens, dogs barking, people screaming, cars honking, noise, noise, noise, so much noise!!! 🤣
If I swapped brains, I would miss the unique sound each bird makes and the wind in the trees and the way the light dances through the woods on a sunny day and so much more. None of my NT peeps notice these things 😥
I've been told by many that they think I have super sonic hearing, I think they're just not listening 😁🤣

[sadrainy]

I only recently realized that having my hair down when I am tired and more prone to sensory overload can be huge contributing factor to just not being able to think and cope. I think it was so ingrained in me that oh having hair down is pretty and nice, and that no one has strong feelings about their hair being down or up other than if they're hot, that it didn't occur to me. So, seeing this video commenting on that thing specifically really made me feel understood and known. Also tight clothes around neck and armpits!! I suddenly can gain such oversensitivity to them, like the dial is turned from 5 to 10 suddenly when I'm already in poor state. Thank you for this video! Even though not all of these apply to me or such extremes, it's good to feel heard and seen and acknowledged. I love your videos, thank you for sharing your voice and stories.

[kraziecatclady]

You have described a lot of things that my daughter struggles with. She's 11 and still refuses to tie shoes. She cannot use a key to open the door and hates being touched. She is on the spectrum. The most confusing thing to me is that they identified her as autistic based off all the sensory issues she has. I have ADHD, my son has both ADHD and is on the spectrum but was diagnosed because he struggles with social cues. When they said my daughter is autistic as well, and talked about the sensory stuff, I was like, "But isn't that part of ADHD?" They said, "No." I left feeling very confused because I also have sensory issues but have always thought of it as part of my ADHD because it can be very distracting. I had more than a few teachers in school stick me out in the hallway during tests because all the erasing other students would do would drive me crazy and make it hard to pay attention to the test. I would get really aggravated by the noise of the writing and erasing.

You also described a lot of things that also bother me or bothered me as a child. As an adult, I don't really care about the balloon thing, but as a child, I was absolutely terrified of balloons. I like dogs, but I can't stand the smell, and I don't like how demanding they can be when it comes to attention. I also don't have the patience to work on things like housebreaking. Smells are a big issue for me. I can smell people smoking cigarettes from blocks away.

We have an air fryer and when it is plugged in, it makes this very high-pitched noise that I find incredibly annoying. I could hear it from the other side of the house. I remember one day; I went into the kitchen and unplugged it once I figured out where it was coming from. My son came down the stairs and said, "The sound is gone." I was like, "Yeah, I thought it was the microwave, but it turned out to be the air fryer." He looked at me all confused and was like, "You can hear it too?" "I thought maybe I was going crazy." I can also hear those annoying tones that were once some kind of stupid trend that kids were doing because apparently adults aren't supposed to be able to hear it. My son thought it was funny to annoy me with those for a bit after getting annoyed that I can hear it even though supposedly, I shouldn't be able to hear it. I can hear noises just fine, but sometimes words themselves get scrambled in my brain like someone is speaking a different language which has caused me to have way more hearing tests that should be considered normal because people have accused me of being hard of hearing. My mom used to joke that I had selective hearing. I thought it was a real illness/problem and got in some trouble once for telling an adult, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you, I have selective hearing." Thanks mom. lol

[lizzywilliams]

I struggled with sensory issues as a child and even now as an adult in my 30s. I thought everyone could hear the lights in the classroom, hear every sound. Small motors, like those in blenders, electric hand dryers, remote control cars. I covered my ears, or dried my hands on my pants. Fire alarms would make me physically ill and like I might pass out because the sound was so overwhelming.

[nicojbobse]

I'm on the spectrum and live in a relatively snowy part of Canada - there's no season that isn't sunglasses season for me. As you mentioned, sometimes in the fall those overcast days are especially bad for my eyes. No one else is wearing sunglasses, but I've just accepted that I'm different. Thanks for the content! Really enjoying your videos.

[TurtleluvsNarwhal]

A lot of these spoke to me but I was floored when I saw the visual snow. It feels really good hearing something about it and not just something I've dealt with and people thought I was crazy. Finally met one other girl who had the issue and felt less alone. Thank you for making these videos

[orth]

I tick all the boxes. Autistic people I've encountered have always been drawn to me and I to them. And yet it wasn't until literally yesterday that everything clicked into place and it finally dawned on me at 41 that I am (obviously) on the spectrum

[annaleefuerstenau]

Thank you SO much for including "visual snow" on this list!! I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately and wondering if it had to do with autism, but I did not have the words to describe my experience. I figured I'd get odd looks if I tried asking others if they've experienced it as well, so I am very happy and relieved to not only have the words to describe it but also the explanation.

[kysq]

I have a lot of these, but sunglasses, the succession of pain from wearing them more often was its own reward. I suggest finding a style you like and then get 3 pair and just get used to wearing them in small doses, maybe start in the back yard, or during a walk round the block. They are great for the white light cloudy days.

[emiliebailly]

omg finally someone that brings up how its SO bright when it's cloudy. I squint so so much and it sometimes makes my eyes water. damn that and most of these points for me feel so validating

[dominic.h.]

Your mention of point 4. is the closest I've heard anyone even come close to describe my experience with music. If I'm listening to music I actually like, it completely overtakes my mind and the entire world just ceases to exist. The music becomes my universe and my entire being becomes thoughtless emotion that just surfs this wave of music. Unfortunately none of this carries over to when the music stops, so in 10-15 minutes, I'm back to whatever state of mind I started listening the music with.

[RisaPlays]

Our old TV used to make this small buzzing noise when it was on and my mom never noticed it. Usually when there was other sound, it could drown it out, but my mom often turned off the cable but forgot to turn off the TV. That buzz then was incessant and annoying. I had to keep letting her know that she forgot to turn off the TV because I was the only one who could hear that buzz.

[HeatherAnnDavis]

I had to stop listening to music like over a decade ago because it made me feel too many feelings and most of them were dangerously depressive. It used to feel euphoric and like when listening, I was inside of the song, surrounded by all its parts, and sometimes I would forget my surroundings because I was so far inside of that other world. But then *a bad thing* happened and it just flipped on me. Been mostly talk radio (and then podcasts! I was so thankful when those were created!) ever since.

I really, deeply relate to everything you shared. I have to study in louder places or along in my house because quiet places seem too loud with all of the eating, drinking, sniffling, coughing, whispering, writing and typing. Certain breathing and eating sounds have always triggered rage in me. There are many vegetables I don’t eat because the texture makes me gag. My sense of smell is crazy sensitive…and on and on and on!