Many Women With Autism Are Going Undiagnosed | HowStuffWorks NOW

A powerful Twitter hashtag is raising awareness about how autism in women hides in plain sight and deserves more clinical attention.

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How Many Cases of Autism in Women Go Undiagnosed? | HowStuffWorks NOW

[Aspengrowth]

I have suspected that females express autism differently. I hardly had any friends all through school and was very quiet and well-behaved. I was very unhappy and constantly questioning and confused about why the other kids didn't like me. It effected my whole life. I am an intellectual but never finished university. I have lots of ideas, but missed years of social skills and confidence development to carry them as far as I would have liked by now. I have never been diagnosed as autistic and it is only recently that I started realizing I have a large number of the characteristics of an aspie female such as those described by Rudy Simone. How much happier, healthier and more productive I would have been if I had not been a confused, unhappy child and if I had been affirmed for who/what I was.

[sciencetroll]

Doubly invisible, indeed. I'm an Aspie man of 58, spent most of my life diagnosed as " Found as a baby in a crashed spacecraft "     Well, still fighting for recognition of how much the world stood on me. And for you Aspie women ? The experts are still talking this crap that Autism is 8/1 males. This can not be easy for you. I stand in the wings and applaud you in this fight. Go girl, even if you are 70 years old.

[pixelizedchell]

As an autsitic woman, I'm so happy that this hashtag, and now this video, exists. Since I was a toddler my mom suspected that I was on the spectrum, but because I was very verbal I was just diagnosed with ADHD. After learning about Autism myself I went to get myself diagnosed at 19, and (shocker) turns out I have ASD. I have just gotten my BA in psychology and I hope that I can help women and girls be more properly diagnosed in the future. Videos and hashtags like this will certainly help end the misconception that autism is a "male" thing.

[AdjourArcane]

Mid 30's female aspy here. I tried going to a meetup group for people with aspergers only to constantly be bothered by new members who would insist I wasn't on the spectrum because I present as an independent, socially functional person with a career.. They all fit the same profile, male, early to mid 20's, coddled by mommy and daddy, high functioning intellectually but not socially. Basically they were all frustrated losers with nothing going on in their lives because they were "too afraid" or it was "too hard" to find a job or date, and since no one was pressuring them to learn different, it was easier to live with mom and blame all things on aspergers.. If they fit that list, guaranteed they'd be saying I wasn't "one of them" within a day, due to cognitive dissonance. It got old fast.

Now, imagine trying to convince a normal person. They are even more dismissive. I've stopped trying. I just say I have aspergers and they can take it or leave it. It doesn't really affect me if they believe me or not. Sometimes I just say I'm an introvert (I am, so not a lie) and people seem to process that label a bit better.

I do think there are a lot of higher functioning people who use aspergers as an excuse to be lazy. It was HARD for me to learn skills, but I refuse to live in a basement blaming the universe for things I can change. My behaviors were NEVER acceptable as a child. While I do wish I was given help/ therapy, I do not regret for a min that my parents insisted I behave normally, because I def wanted to be a withdrawn lazy wierdo who stimmed all thats what I would have been with modern coddling parenting techniques. I learned to function because I had to. Temple Grandin talks about this concept extensively and shes got a much more severe condition.

 Anyway, just because I was able to work hard to blend in doesn't mean its easy and it doesn't mean I'm making shit up.

[dappermuis]

Getting a diagnosis can be even harder when those you go to see either don't believe it real or because you 'appear' to be coping you don't need it. Especially for something like Aspergers. It was an up hill battle for me. I eventually I gathered all I could about it and managed to find someone who was willing to listen and read through a couple hundered of pages of stuff I plonked on her desk. Knowing makes all the difference. I eventually managed to put my frustrations into a poem about my experience.

A NOTE TO PROFESSIONALS

Getting a diagnosis
Does not mean the end of my world

Getting a diagnosis
Does not mean I will give up on life

Getting a diagnosis
Does not mean I will use it as an excuse to do nothing

Getting a diagnosis
Does not mean I will expect everyone to wait hand and foot on me

Getting a diagnosis
Does not mean I will live my life recklessly
And blame it on my condition

Getting a diagnosis
Means things make more sense
Understanding why you do the things you do

Getting a diagnosis
Means I can get help when I need it

Getting a diagnosis
Means I can learn to work around the problem where possible
Remember if you don't acknowledge that there is a problem, how can you deal with it?

Getting a diagnosis
Means people are more understanding if I struggle with something

Getting a diagnosis
Means I can be free to be me
And not have to pretend I am something I am not

Getting a diagnosis
Means I can make informed decisions in my life
On what I can and should do
Without it things could go badly

SO WHY THE HECK ARE YOU PEOPLE SO RELUCTANT TO GIVE ME ONE?
You are here to help
Not hurt
You took an oath remember?

[IamSalvatore]

Huh, I'd always been informed growing up that autism was far less prevalent in women- but this gives me a whole new light on that sweeping statement. Nobody bothered to mention why it was less prevalent, instead merely assuming that it was. This really gave me insight into something I hadn't given thought for a really long time, thank you.

[samanthachase]

I was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, and medicated for it for years. Later I was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, a high functioning disorder on the Autism Spectrum. I look back now and realize just how much my parents had to fight for a proper diagnosis, how they fought schools and brought me to see several specialists to get me the help me needed, and I am so grateful. Every person I mention my disorder to tells me that they wouldn't have known. or that they couldn't tell. It makes me a bit uncomfortable, because I know exactly what goes on in their head when I tell them I'm on the Autism Spectrum, and its wrong. I don't like that people have stereotyped mental illness as much as they have. and I am so grateful to this movement, this video, and everyone who understands for shedding some much-needed light in all of this.

[CatherineDupuis]

Diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type) and ASD at *22*. When I was young in the early 90s, I was just smart and "weird."

[Happy_horsemanship]

misdiagnosed for years and took lots of doctors prescriptions for anxiety and depression.now 34 and the penny has dropped

[kukalakana]

Some people in Psychology classes are still putting forth Simon Baron-Cohen's idea of the "extreme male" brain, which really needs to go the way of the "refrigerator mother" theory of autism.

(As a side note. I was lucky, in the sense that nobody ever doubted that I was on the spectrum. But on the other hand, Aspergers and HFA were not really fully recognised until 1994 when I was 16 years old, so it probably would have been much easier to have been born later. I do feel so sorry for all those people who don't find out until they are in their 60s. Or others from earlier periods who lived and died without knowing.)

[janebaker]

I was diagnosed with social anxiety. Thought I was just different. I'm a bit easier on myself now I now I'm on the spectrum. I have asked my partner how he feels being engaged to someone with this and when he knew I was different... He said "you're just... You" 😍

[shawnafsworld]

Some people noticed that I am Autistic. but other people ( Health Professionals...ect Psychologist's, psychiatrist They CAN SEE IT WRITTEN IN MY MEDICAL HISTORY, I CAN SEE IT WRITTEN MYSELF, BUT THEY STILL DENT IT IN FRONT OF ME ) There's no way you have "Autism or it's "I Didnt See it Written Anywhere in your history" ? ( I KNOW WHAT TRAITS ARE IN FEMALES ) Do Health professionals Really NOT Know These things, Signs to look for and "keep records" like they've done with Boys, guy's like : Flapping their arm's, Covering their Ears when Noise is to loud, and Being Socially awkward, ?!, Self Injurious Behaviors, / SIB, Need for Routines and sameness, Autism and water interaction, Stimming, ect, ect, They should Note These other types of traits that Autisic Females have in common with each other like Patterns. signs We're Different Hello ?

[moppyflow]

Autism is way under diagnosed in general.

[jenniferlillie]

Love and completely agree with this! For me, I was always told I have too much anxiety. The doctors assumed that I had to be autistic just to have all of the anxiety that I had by the age of 4 (especially in regards to socialization). I was diagnosed as PDD-NOS because I failed their masculine based autism test. I did not receive therapy for autism, but I went through a lot of therapy focusing on my anxiety as well as therapies to improve my motor skills. I was only really ever told I was autistic by the time I was in high school. I understood basic social skills, so the classes I was placed in weren't helpful (my teacher literally told me I shouldn't be in there because I understood everything and initiated social contact with others in the class); I was the only girl in the class at the time. I graduated from a university with 2 degrees and honors, which is not expected for autistic people. I did not "outgrow" my autism, however. I was a victim of rape a couple of years ago. I did a lot of research for my psychology degree, and I found that autistic women are sexually victimized at much higher rates than our neurotypical counterparts. I would love if you could make a video talking about this epidemic.

[bradbradfordson]

of people finding politically charged reasons to be offended by a series of facts based in medical science here. Facts are so inconvenient when you're out to prove a point about people you hate.

[ROCKDIVA]

I live in southeast Pennsylvania. There's nothing here for people or kids with autism, especially women. It's like living in exile or jail. I'm trapped and I feel like I'm banned from anything that can help me.

[GFINHK]

I have a daily routine which, if I cannot carry out in order makes me very uncomfortable. I need to know plans beforehand & they must be adhered to or I may suffer a meltdown. I'm very talkative & articulate but have problems with not being able to stop talking. Sometimes I'm unable to talk & become mute. I cannot summarise events, I must talk about every detail & not being able to do so frustrates me immensely.

[jalyn]

#shecantbeautistic because it makes everyone uncomfortable of their years of criticism of odd personality traits and "but you know a lot" and "function normally" ....except when she doesn't 😭😭😭

[fzzgg_]

I'm 26 years old and was just diagnosed with ASD. My psychiatrist said the only reason I wasn't taken seriously was because my trauma from my childhood is so severe and PTSD and ASD can look the same I guess. Also my team of doctors said they are finding new information about ASD and they have allegedly come across a study saying that ASD may be caused by some kind of bacteria that is present in the mother's womb at the time of conception or during the developmental stages, can't remember verbatim but I thought that was interesting...

[sarahstrong]

The reason this is a problem is because the scientists have not developed a clear working understanding of Autism. When I say a working understanding I mean a functional understanding which explains how particular impairments in brain function lead to the specific characteristics of Autism.
I have developed a working understanding of Autism and I have evaluated it according to university guidelines and it seems to stand up extremely well in comparison to peoples theories, which is not surprising as my findings are based in over fifty years experience and deductive work.
The discoveries, I have made, clearly explain how particular impairments in brain function bring about the recognised characteristics of Autism and thus facilitate the understanding needed by so many.
I have difficulties with communication, despite quite clear word use and I dont know the right people to help my work get proper consideration.
I have written to University professors, doctors, Members of Parliament and the (U.K.) National Autistic Society. No one is listening. I have been unable to get a hearing for my findings, which, I am sure would be helpful to many. I have just been dismissed and ignored.
I would like to get my work heard and recognised.
When there is clear understanding of how particular impairments in brain function bring about the characteristics of Autism, including the strengths as well as the difficulties, that facilitates a clarity of understanding which will support better diagnosis.