The autism experience - exclusive to me as an autistic small business owner.
*I want to preface this blog post by saying that no autistic experience in the same. Every single person with ASD has a different experience and I can and will only speak on my own behalf.
As a woman with autism and having spoken to friends and peers about their own experiences, I've found that one of the initial struggles when it comes to ASD and getting an ASD diagnosis as a woman is the fact that women present differently to men. Why is this a struggle for autistic women? Because most of us have an inkling within ourselves of our diagnosis before we get it and the process of obtaining a diagnosis becomes unbelievably emotionally taxing. "No two individuals with autism are identical, which is why symptoms and signs of autism in women vary from one person to the next" (Adult Autism Center). I know that in my own experience, I found that I had to justify myself and my reasonings for wanting to get tested far more than I feel I should have. One of the first things I said to my family and friends when I got my diagnosis was .. "I told you so".
Context
Why does this struggle exist? Well to put it simply, "while the criteria for autism are the same in females and males, females may be less likely to be diagnosed or diagnosed later because the criteria for an autism diagnosis were based primarily on male behavior" (PsychCentral). "For many decades, experts assumed autism occurred more in males than females. Most autism research relied on male participants and examples, so what is known about autism is largely based on autism in males. As a result, boys are referred for autism diagnosis 10 times more than girls" (UCLA Health). What this means is that the criteria (although used to diagnose both men and women) is disproportionally focused on how autism presents in men rather than women. "Females are diagnosed with autism at a later age than boys, reducing their possibilities of obtaining care" (National Library of Medicine U.S), leaving women confused and unsupported.
Cognitive ability and creativity
I've rattled on long enough so I'll get to my point. What're some of the misconceptions regarding women and autism? Well when it comes to autism there is always a focus on cognitive ability, whether is be lacking or heightened. Something we don't talk about enough (or maybe are just so conditioned to believe the contrary) is that individuals with autism can be and typically are, very creative. "One example of creativity that may highlight this difference is divergent thinking, or creativity in the ways we think" (Embrace Autism). Another misconception is that people with autism are incapable of understanding figurative language like sarcasm, metaphors and hyperboles. However, I personally thrived in advanced english in high-school and love using some emotive metaphors in my writing, I also utilise sarcastic humour in my day to day life. Although I have found that there are some phrases that I don't quite understand, the misconception that people with autism are incapable of understanding figurative language is simply not true.
Social interaction and masking
"Social camouflaging was first shown to be a characteristic of autistic persons, who actively try to disguise and compensate for their autism features in social contexts in an effort to socially blend in better" (National Library of Medicine U.S). This is a big one for me. One of the most difficult misconceptions when it comes to autism in women is that if we you sociable and neurotypical passing, you cannot be autistic..
Wrong.
"It has been revealed by three studies that camouflage behavior is more common in autistic females rather than males" (National Library of Medicine U.S). There is a known phenomenon that girls crave social inclusivity greater than boys do and the lengths of which they'll go to in order to achieve that, also differ. Studies on how women internalise their experiences while men externalise these experiences also supports this idea. This is important to note because this is one theory correlating to why women are known to mask their autistic traits more frequently than men.
I know that in my own personal circumstance, I don't know how NOT to mask. For me, it acts as a survival mechanism in order to blend in better and avoid any kind of social 'disruption' for myself and my friends/family however, although I am not always actively aware of my masking it is still incredibly exhausting. Masking continuously is one of the most prominent reasons that autistic burnout occurs, but I'll get into that more another time.
What is the point in all of this?
Well considering it is autism awareness and acceptance month, I think it is really important as an autistic small business owner to shed some light and awareness on how autism affects me personally, and the overall population of autistic women who have and are struggling to form an understanding of themselves and how they fit into the world. Even after autism acceptance and awareness month, it is my goal to include autism awareness (from a female perspective) in my business because it is something that I am actively living and experiencing while running my small business which I absolutely love doing.
So thank you if you are still here for reading this post and in doing so, supporting me as small business owner and a person with autism. Take care and stay curious.
Goodbye for now ♡︎
Keep Informed ᵔᴗᵔ
Autism in Women, What you need to know - Adult Autism Center
Understanding undiagnosed autism in adult females- UCLA Health
Autism in women and girls - Autism Awareness Australia
Misconceptions surrounding creativity & imagination in autism- Embrace Autism
Are There Differences Between Autistic Boys and Girls? - Psych Central
Camouflage and masking behavior in adult autism- National Library of Medicine U.S