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Off the Spectrum by Gina Rippon

📖 Off the Spectrum: Why the Science of Autism Has Failed Women and Girls by Gina Rippon explores how autism research has historically focused on boys and overlooked how autism presents in girls and women.

The book explains why many individuals have been missed, misunderstood, or misdiagnosed—especially when camouflaging or masking behaviors are involved. This pressure to fit in and hide struggles often leads to emotional challenges that can take years to understand.

Key topics include late diagnosis, the female protective effect, and how conditions such as anxiety, sensory sensitivities, and eating disorders are often linked to autism in girls but frequently overlooked. Rippon calls for important changes in research, diagnosis, education, and support to ensure future generations receive better recognition and care.

If you’ve felt that autism diagnosis criteria didn’t fully reflect your experiences or those of people you know, this book offers valuable insights.

#OffTheSpectrum #AutismInGirls #LateDiagnosis #womenandautism #Neurodiversity #Camouflaging #MentalHealthAwareness #InvisibleDisability #TheMighty

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Self-compassion

Yesterday, my therapist suggested that I might benefit from practicing self -compassion. She's not the only one to reach this conclusion - several previous therapists have told me the same thing, and I've experimented on my own with self-compassion practices. While I respect the research and soul-searching that clearly went into the development of the self-compassion framework, I also struggle with the sense that self-compassion practices are somehow hollow - that I can repeat the statements, but they don't take on any deep meaning for me.

As I start my self-compassion journey again, I'm also troubled by the ableist and elitist underpinnings of the movement. I've been unable to finish Kristin Neff's book on self-compassion because of her depictions of her autistic son as a burden and a source of suffering, as well as her tone, which sometimes comes across as patronizing. Please know that I don't mean to minimize the voices of those who have found her work influential and helpful - only to share my own experience as I've engaged with it. I also feel that statements like "everyone suffers" may be somewhat true, but also ignore the systemic nature of suffering.

All of this to say - I'm left wondering what a more liberatory, anti-ableist self-compassion might look like - one focused on interdependence and committed to dismantling harmful frameworks. Any ideas?

#CerebralPalsy #Anxiety #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Trauma #Neurodiversity

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How's everyones summer going so far this summer I decided to try plant a few things. Whats something everyone would like to do this summer. #ADHD #ADHDInGirls #Addiction #AddictionRecovery #Neurodiversity #Anxiety #MentalHealth #Depression

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