Life of women who do not know they are autistic
I agree. There was hardly anything about Sophie that seemed autistic to me.
I think that the launching into monologue about her special interest at an interview was a major sign. Also the sensory issues she has.
I didn't see it as a special interest, more like talking about her college because the interviewer asked her a question and she answered.
_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
Females are underdiagnosed with AS/ASD because they are females.
Males are underdiagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder because they are male.
What becomes of the undiagnosed females with AS/ASD I don't know, though I suspect the undiagnosed males with BPD end up dead or in prison.
That's a gloomy prospect
Indeed it is. Which is why the mental health field needs to work on minimizing it's sex bias. Of course it also needs to work on mastering scientific principals.
I've just been reading a study of Repetitive behaviours, insistence on sameness and anxiety in ASD children. The study participants were 110 males and 10 females
_________________
I have a piece of paper that says ASD Level 2 so it must be true.
I agree. There was hardly anything about Sophie that seemed autistic to me.
I think that the launching into monologue about her special interest at an interview was a major sign. Also the sensory issues she has.
I didn't see it as a special interest, more like talking about her college because the interviewer asked her a question and she answered.
Yes that's what Sophie thought too.
This description is subtle. She launches into her explanation. This denotes ott enthusiasm. And she's obviously gone on too long about it because the interviewer gets irritated and has to cut her off.
The author has been clever her describing it from Sophie's perspective rather than saying "she started monolouging at him". The author shows that she thought she was just answering the question and Sophie is now confused about why she's irritated the interviewer.
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,462
Location: Long Island, New York
I agree. There was hardly anything about Sophie that seemed autistic to me.
I think that the launching into monologue about her special interest at an interview was a major sign. Also the sensory issues she has.
I would add the intensity of the anxiety, going into a shutdown and the poor motor coordination.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
But there's nothing in the description that clearly suggests that she shutdown. As far as I could tell, she just blacked out. There's nothing about autism that necessarily causes more intense anxiety. And nothing suggested poor motor coordination. Lots of people lose their balance when buses suddenly brake, and distress can make people more clumsy than usual.
BirdInFlight
Veteran
Joined: 8 Jun 2013
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,501
Location: If not here, then where?
I'm going to assume that if the woman the article is about is actually known to be formally diagnosed, then anything seemingly inaccurate which the writer of the article mentions about her effects of autism may just be the writer's misapprehensions.
The overall point of the article is being overlooked and missed, here.
Assuming this Sophie did indeed end up being diagnosed with ASD, lets focus on the actual point of the article, which is, as we know already to be true, the fact that adult females of the "missed generations" have lived with autism without knowing that's what their range of traits and challenges actually are because of.
I relate to that larger message because I was one of them, not that I've ever fallen off a bus. The bigger picture is, lots of women are suffering without know what is at the bottom of all their various issues. Lets not pick apart the story the writer chose to tell, as the writer is clearly not focusing on probably the most salient issues of the experience of this woman.
Assuming this Sophie did indeed end up being diagnosed with ASD, lets focus on the actual point of the article,
Actually we are all free to focus on whatever aspect of the article we choose, and no such focus implies that anyone overlooked the main point.
BirdInFlight
Veteran
Joined: 8 Jun 2013
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,501
Location: If not here, then where?
Sure, you're free to focus on whatever, but in my opinion you are nitpicking a detail that derails the main point of the article. And I'm free to point that out, and how derailing it really is.
The main issue of the underdiagnosis of females who suffer long years of not having a handle on why they experience issues, is such a crucially important one that it really appalls me that you are throwing that baby out with the bathwater over your own cynicism of the subject-person's autism based on simply what a probably not that informed writer chose to write about.
You are derailing. It's a free country and board and you can do that but at what cost to the main issue?
I have no more time for you. You're devaluing a really, really important topic. Shame on you. I'm done here.
I could me misreading things here but I think it's a real shame that posters have apparently fallen out over opinions about an article that was written to try and highlight issues suffered by undiagnosed women on the spectrum.
_________________
R Tape loading error, 0:1
Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury. Raise the double standard
I think the problem was we couldn't actually relate to the protagonist.
I think the problem was we couldn't actually relate to the protagonist.
I get that, but the point of the article not just the quoted part was to highlight that some woman on the spectrum show signs that are less obvious - clearly .
_________________
R Tape loading error, 0:1
Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury. Raise the double standard
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,462
Location: Long Island, New York
But there's nothing in the description that clearly suggests that she shutdown. As far as I could tell, she just blacked out. There's nothing about autism that necessarily causes more intense anxiety. And nothing suggested poor motor coordination. Lots of people lose their balance when buses suddenly brake, and distress can make people more clumsy than usual.
Well yes an alternate explanation can plausably be given for a person whose behavoirs completly mimick the DSM 5. If you have the inclination, time,money power, and influence and are a professional who thinks autism is way overdiagnosed you could undiagnose or change the diagnosis for the vast majority of diagnosed autistics plausibly.
Sophie is a fictional charactor described as autistic by her creator. Her fictional traits were meant to be caused by autism because the charactor is meant to be used to describe some things that resemble what non fictional autistic adult women experience. So her tripping was likely meant to be autism related moter co orderination issue and her collapsing on the sidewalk was meant to be understood as some sort of autistic shutdown. That the behavoirs and thoughts and smell sensitivity described when combined are autism caused is very plausible explanation.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
Similar Topics | |
---|---|
These mystery novels are changing how we see autistic women |
01 Apr 2024, 6:52 pm |
Married life as an autistic person |
31 Mar 2024, 8:37 am |
Handbook for autistic-autistic social interactions |
08 Feb 2024, 1:31 pm |
A counterpoint to Autistic Supremacy? Autistic Inferiority? |
26 Feb 2024, 1:46 pm |