3 Signs Of Autism In Women And How I Cope

Autism is famously a misunderstood diagnosis. Not only is it often associated with nerdy men with a lack of social awareness but it's also very under-diagnosed in women. Shockingly many women are not diagnosed until there late 20s whereas most men get diagnosed before ethe age of 15. This makes spotting autism in women very difficult as most of the time we are looking at male characteristics of autism as the only version of autism. This often means that many many women are not diagnosed creating the issue of under diagnosis in the female autism community a major problem. 

This is where the importance of sharing the signs of autism in women so you can recognise the signs and get officially diagnosed to receive the help that they drive. So , without further ado here are 4 signs of autism in women and how I cope personally with these symptoms of autism.

1. Social masking

Social making is a common sign of autism and is where someone with autism copies another person's body language, tone of voice or facial expressions to try and fit in or seem ‘normal’. Although this is a sign of autism in both males and females. Women and girls with autism often suffer more with masking. With social pressure usually being more severe on women with women expected to act more behaved in all situations, women usually find herself masking more. This can start to have a huge mental toll on women and girls who are pretending at all hours of the day leading to burn out and exhaustion.

To cope with this I tend to take extended periods of time to rest to let my brain rest and to feel like myself again. I've also worked on undoing social constructs which lead to masking all the time to try and unmask in social situations.

2. Sensory overload

Sensory overload is one of the most well known signs of autism and is where an autistic person gets overwhelmed by noses, bright lights, crowds or scratchy clothing. This often leads to outbursts, meltdowns and tantrums as they feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. These outbursts are often followed by extended time of discomfort and often lead to the autistic person having to self sooth to get back to their normal selves. This can be very disruptive to an autistic woman's life as they may have to mask these feelings or if they do melt down it's often frowned upon and seen as rude which males get less often. 

3. Intense special interests

Women with autism, just like most with autism, often have a special interest which is a deep and burning passion for specific topics and spend hours  a day learning about them. Oftentimes for women special interests can be less obvious than dinosaurs and can revolve around traditionally ‘female’ interests such as hair make up and clothing such as pink sapphire jewelry. This make it harder to spot in girls which can cause women to fall under the radar when it come to women.