Women with Autism Overlooked?
androbot01
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I found this article to be very similar with my own experience of struggling for support. I am internal imploder and am treated for depression and anxiety. Although I have been diagnosed with autism, this is overlooked in favour of treating the symptoms rather than the cause. I mean, why do they think I'm depressed and anxious, I wasn't born that way?
Anyway, I would normally have posted this in General, but because it's about women's experiences, it would quickly turn into a misogynist playground.
Forbes: Autistic Girls Are Undiagnosed, Underserved And Misunderstood
They can often go without resources and supports for years thanks to the prevailing concept that autism is “supposed” to be rare among girls and women. Because girls are socialized differently from boys, their needs can go overlooked and their autism unrecognized. They also are far less likely to be included in autism-related research studies, and much of the diagnostic approach to autism is filtered through the male behavioral prism.
androbot01
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Okay, back to the subject of this thread. I think you could make a case for all people with Autism being overlooked. We are, after all, a marginal population. As far as women being treated less than men, I'm sure that that varies from culture to culture and from place to place.
_________________
When everyone is losing their heads except you, maybe you don't understand the situation.
the main female chip is faster and more accurate than the male ones and also exhibits a propensity for seeming rudeness as she barges through her stock of knowledge, but her motive is to supply the male chip with information only but he is more interested in romantic notions.
eventually, another male chip who she introduces as her friend pretends to be condemned by a virus to sprouting a fountain of disconnected words, and a more NT style female chip alerts the main female chip that he has a virus (she is in on the ruse), but by that stage he has overloaded her (the main chip) with unsortable information that she is trying to process, and her sudden disengagement due to fear of contamination results in a meltdown which shuts her up as the slower male chips planned after being blasted by her cpu until they got sick of her.
it seems to me they overlooked her in a way that average males may be intimidated by fast thinking and logical girls and fail to see them as equal.
you may very well have a point there.
but then again, it is also possible that you may not.
it is difficult to tell given the way it was written
androbot01
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Yes one probably could, but that's not the topic.
I never said anything about women being treated less.
eventually, another male chip who she introduces as her friend pretends to be condemned by a virus to sprouting a fountain of disconnected words, and a more NT style female chip alerts the main female chip that he has a virus (she is in on the ruse), but by that stage he has overloaded her (the main chip) with unsortable information that she is trying to process, and her sudden disengagement due to fear of contamination results in a meltdown which shuts her up as the slower male chips planned after being blasted by her cpu until they got sick of her.
it seems to me they overlooked her in a way that average males may be intimidated by fast thinking and logical girls and fail to see them as equal.
Okay, well, I'm not sure I agree with the premise that girls are faster thinking or logical, but anyway... I'm not sure what this has to do with the female presentation of autism being overlooked.
(commenting on the article)
I fit very well into that mold, haha. I know other women, and some men, who do as well.
It seems that people who have tendencies that, for whatever reason, are coded as "feminine" can have this happen to them. The actual gender of the person only matters because they are more likely to be socialized to be this way - imploding internally, etc.
i hope that made any sense.
androbot01
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I'm not female, but I'm here and I'd like to add: Women are brought up to be much more social than men. The way current diagnosis are one has to have a few autistic symptoms, but they must have social difficulty to be autistic. It would make sense that even being less social than their gender counterparts, female autistics could still surpass the social threshold for current diagnosis. I'm not arguing it's fair or right, but it is an issue that I believe needs special attention in regards to female diagnosis and coping.
androbot01
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I am able to hide my social awkwardness. Mostly by a strategy of repetition and rewording of what others say, with the occasional honest observation thrown in. But most of the time I smile and nod and don't say a word. I've noticed that a lot of people like to dominate the conversation anyway. However, doing this has come at a cost. For example, I am able to interact with people without feeling any emotional attachment or "bonding." My goal is not the social exchange, but rather getting it over with before I give away my discomfort and disinterest. Sometimes conversations are actually painful.
But my psychiatrist sees that I am able to perform socially, which is true (for a limited time) but it doesn't mean that I am not struggling. So he figures I'm not on the spectrum. Although he acknowledges my anxiety and depression. But what he doesn't get is that even though I can compensate for my social challenges, it doesn't change what I am. It's such a superficial way to look at an illness.
androbot01
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Social faking probably seems normal to most normies, psychiatrists included.
Why is that?
Social faking probably seems normal to most normies, psychiatrists included.
Why is that?
I can't speak for starkid, but my interpretation of her statement is that most socialization is merely a game, it's utter BS, so you fake it to get through it. "Normies" are so used to and adept at playing the game (faking it) that it in essence becomes completely natural and normal for them. They don't question like autistics do, they're perfectly happy accepting what others say and moving on. Think about that for a second, the ability to just ignore someone when they're talking to you but still be able instinctually respond in the appropriate manner-- that would seriously make life much easier.
There is lots of "fakery" in social interactions of all kinds.
One always wants to present the "best" side of themselves. It's human/animal nature.
What dog would want to present their "worst" side to other dogs? What dog would want to bark something which indicates they love kissing up to the "alpha" dog?
It is fakery. It is "social-Darwinism," and it does demean the value of a person. But, alas, it is inevitable that one must practice this in the course of their everyday lives.
Women with autism are overlooked, it seems to me, because they have a society-induced vested interest in maintaining a "social face"--which, obviously, leads other to conclude that they are not autistic due to their seeming "social abilities." "Awkwardness" is seen as being "cute" , "odd," or something like "avant-garde," rather than autistic.
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