Autism in Women and AFAB Adults

Everything that we know about autism currently is based only on research conducted on little boys, so women and AFAB people who grew up displaying autism symptoms weren’t taken seriously because the symptoms present DRASTICALLY different in girls and AFAB people. New research suggests that overall girls are better with social cues than boys and have learned to hide their symptoms well in order to fit in. In order to see the similarities between gender specific symptoms you have to blatantly ask about the thought process behind behaviors.

Look at the pictures and think about what comes to mind. Read the questions on them to see if you relate.

Did you play alone a lot as a child? Were you just on the outskirts of friend groups and struggling to learn social cues that seem to come naturally to others?
Did you know that 76% of people diagnosed with Autism are on the gender spectrum?
Can you hear everything? Does it get so loud and overwhelming that it physically hurts your body?
Do you have a small social battery and when it runs out you need days to recover? This is called Autistic Burnout.
Do you feel like you’re from another planet?
Do you feel like you should’ve been an animal or just connect better with animals than other humans?
Did you line up your toys in an aesthetically pleasing way rather than playing with them socially or tell stories?
Does this bring rage into your body?
Are you constantly fidgeting or moving in ways that LITERALLY calm your body down? Like moving your toes in your shoes, flapping your hands, and rocking back and forth?
When you talk about your stomach dropping like on a roller coaster do you actually feel your stomach drop in your body? Neurotypical people mean that as a metaphor.
Do you find yourself dropping out of things constantly? Is school or work hard to complete because the questions are too vague and you don’t know what they’re looking for?
Are you constantly falling or walking into the corners of walls and furniture?
Do people think you’re lazy when really you just run out of energy faster than them or don’t have as much energy than others to begin with?
Questioning gender and/ or sexuality but really just think the labels are stupid and just don’t matter anyway?

If many of these resonate with you, lets talk about a potential Autism diagnosis. I can’t officially diagnose you like a Psychologist, but as an adult, an official diagnosis doesn’t really matter (unless you need accommodations), but a label might help make sense of things.

ASD and Eating Disorders

Autism overlaps a lot with eating disorders. So much of food is based on sensory input that the textures of food, the consistency of food, and limited palates make them picky eaters, sometimes to the point of an official ED diagnosis. Usually the body dysmorphia issues that are present are not about “being fat” but more about gender dysphoria since 76% of people who identify as autistic are also on the gender spectrum. Many times wanting to be androgenous or non-binary. I do my absolute best to provide gender affirming care and I am happy to write surgery letters for different aspects of gender confirmation surgeries if we have been working together for at least 6 months.

What we work on in sessions

We can work on figuring out social cues that may be difficult to interpret, but also how to have better relationships with people that feel more meaningful. We can work through the trauma of having to push down parts about yourself that weren’t okay and were taught out of you. Together we can learn how to feel secure in unmasking and feel safe being who you are. I can also be a talking mirror to ask questions to and get answers from an outside perspective.

Its me, hi, I’m the neurotypical weirdo ready to work with you!

Start here.

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