Autism in Females: How is it Different? | Kati Morton

I'm Kati Morton, a licensed therapist making Mental Health videos!
#katimorton #therapist #therapy

MY BOOKS (in stores now)

ONLINE THERAPY

Join this channel to get access to perks:

YOU CAN SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY SHOPPING WITH OUR AFFILIATE LINKS

PARTNERSHIP

PLEASE READ
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call a local emergency telephone number or go immediately to the nearest emergency room.

[CaatsGoMoooo]

I've spent _years_ trying to figure out what was wrong with me mentally, then once I started researching autism in females, it felt like every single puzzle piece was put into place. Can any of my fellow ladies relate??

[alexsinger]

I’m relatively sure that females are not less likely to have it, it’s just that they work harder to mask it.

[janebaker]

When I was young I would miminc so hard I used to pick up the laugh of the people I was around.

[ladynightingale]

I always said I was a social chameleon. I’d imitate the people around me to appear normal in their eyes. But it’s SO EXHAUSTING

[jade]

When you want to diagnose a female with ASD, observe them in their homes. Personally, I act different in public then I do in my own home.

[r]

One thing I’d like to add is that older girls on the spectrum often only get diagnosed after they burn out, get depressed etc. That’s what happened with me, and several other people I know!
Burnout happens because girls often slip under the radar because they tend to mask and mimic, which leads them to be overestimated and stressed out.
Diagnosis is often also delayed because their interests are more ‘normal’, like magazines, animals, tv shows etc. It’s the intensity and specificity that makes them unusual.

[tailyngorg]

Throw back to the time in seventh grade when I had a list of how to act and what to say in order to fit in. That should have been a BIG red flag.

[alexsinger]

“Girls with ASD are often more fixated on their special interests.”

Me: Raises hand

[Happinosis]

I was diagnosed at 46 after a lifetime of misunderstanding and depression.

[thinthle]

Detail orientated, taking things literally being direct/bluntly honest, intense about subjects definetly sounds like me.

[MirandaMarieF]

I’m 90% sure I’m on the autism spectrum, so many boys in my family including my full blood brother have autism and every time I’ve mentioned I think I may be as well, people laugh. I have such an incredibly hard time initiating conversation, maintaining relationships, I follow what I see everyone else doing and I always have, as a kid I loved playing alone and organizing things or setting scenes that looked appealing, I’ve always been very smart but tend to get lost in my own “world”. I’m extremely uncomfortable with hugging and acts of physical affection, I am extremely sensitive and feel like I’m constantly people watching, trying to figure out how everyone acts so normal.

[beatriz]

Growing up, I got a lot of: "You shouldn't be so angry all the time, it's not feminine."

[mysuperpack]

I've always struggled with social interactions since I can remember. Teachers and parents told me that I was just being too shy and too reserved but in the back of my mind I felt like that was not it. I wasn't refraining from social contests because I didn't like them but because they felt completely foreign to me, like how do all these people know EXACTLY how to talk to one another and how to say the right thing at the right time? It was like everyone had read the instructions manual except me. During adolescence I couldn't make any long lasting friendship mainly because, I can see it now, I was just too much. I loved a certain book too much and couldn't stop talking about it or I just need to do a certain thing every morning otherwise my day was ruined. I'm in my 20s now and, though I still have little to no friends, I can say I've mastered mimicking how other people behave and talk so well you could't tell there's something slightly off about me. And I think I've always been on the autism spectrum but went undiagnosed.

[remichloelewis]

I was diagnosed with autism when I was 5 years old and I hide my autism a lot from almost everyone. Especially being a black woman on the spectrum and now I’m 22 but will be 23 in a couple months.

[lupsie]

The part about setting up scenes is so wild. When I used to play with my Polly Pockets, I would spend hours setting up the scene but would never actually role play with them. I always intended to. But couldn't quite figure out how. I just wish someone had recognized this is in my younger so I could have gotten proper care :( I recently told my best friend that I'm pretty sure I'm high function, and she said she had hints. That was honestly so reassuring.

[cardiabardia]

The years of dismissal, being called bipolar, feeling exhausted around holiday season because of all the family gatherings, adopting behaviors I hate to survive around the people i hated, the inability to understand authority, always watching the same shows or playing the same games over and have never felt so

[JenMsumba]

I was misdiagnosed for years. Once I actually got help for my ASD I started getting better with my behavior problems and now I am doing so well. All those years of my life wasted. But what i went through helps make me me so it's ok

[attwl]

4:00 OMG THAT IS LITERALLY SO TRUE- i BUILT CITIES WITH MY TOYS BUT I NEVER PLAYED WITH THEM

[Edanasaur]

When you said the thing about lining your toys up to make a scene and just enjoying the aesthetics! I didn't want other children to join in as I thought they would ruin the order 😂

[fluffyAJ]

Could me naturally mimicking others behaviors b the reason I dont know who I am? How do I stop myself from mimicking others???