Autism in Girls

[Guest]

Interesting article I found a few days ago. I thought it might be of community interest, particularly in light of the conversations we often have about social awkwardness and neurodiversity and how it impacts dating/friendships.

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/gender-and-autism/women-and-girls-on-the-autism-spectrum.aspx

[Barretts_Salt]

Nice article. The bit about soap operas and intense celebrity interest made me smile.

Thanks!

[OtherRoooToo]

Thank you for that article, Eliza Jane.  I think it's of great interests to some of us -- for example, any lady who doesn't necessarily identify with being "on the spectrum" (or who might) but who regardless of identification, struggles with social interaction the same way a guy does whose blunders are so often excused with "maybe he's just shy" or "maybe he's just socially awkward" ... but who gets punished more severely for any deviations from the norm because "girls are expected to be social".

I wish they'd given some more discussion about this

Girls with autism are expected to be social

In our society, girls are expected to be social in their communication. Girls on the spectrum do not ‘do social chit chat’ or make ‘meaningless’ comments in order to facilitate social communication. The idea of a social hierarchy and how one communicates with people of different status can be problematic

as opposed to just kind of ... named it and let it sit there?

There was a guest post a couple of years ago that talks about it as well, from a slightly different angle; I'm not sure if you've seen it

http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2013/01/24/he-might-be-on-the-spectrum-but-what-about-me/

Thank you for posting that link!  Do you know if it's part of a series?  Will there be any followup?

[Hirundo Bos]

Old thread, but I came across a blog post about being a woman and autistic that I thought was maybe relevant?

[Prajnaparamita]

Ahhhh so much feels! I'm always wanted to start a ASD/Aspergers general discussion thread, but women with ASD is a huge interest of mine. (Yay for being an underreported and forgotten minority!) If anyone is interested in questions about how women with ASD are diagnosed, as we tend to not fit that "eight year old boy who flaps his hands and is randomly obsessed with things" stereotype and are often misdiagnosed or have our experiences minimized (plus often don't display a lot of other behavioral traits) I can talk about my experiences and how I got referred/tested/diagnosed, and services I've used.

Also, this: http://the-toast.net/2015/01/15/dating-while-autistic/

I actually started crying the first time I read this, I had never read about someone describing my experiences so accurately.

Longer thoughts when I get home this evening.

[Guest]

Thank you both for those links!

Prajna, the article you posted totally has me reconsidering a lot of the media with that "quirky girl" through the lens of autism -- we never have her perspective in the story, since the focus is on the male she's transforming -- and wondering if there's pain there we never get to see.

[OtherRoooToo]

He Might Be "On the Spectrum" -- But What About Me ??

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