WomenWithAutism

"𝑃𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑠: 𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑦, 𝑙𝑎𝑧𝑦, 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟. 𝑀𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖-𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝐺𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝐴𝐷𝐻𝐷 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑡 34 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 34 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠. 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝑆𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑓𝑢𝑙." - 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛.

This!

It's not about labelling it's about understanding. I never expected to be diagnosed with ADHD and ASD - especially in my 30s! Even when it was suggested and I was referred for assessments, I never thought I'd be diagnosed. I mean, how have I made it to 30 without it ever being picked up?

Well, with great difficulty!

I was very quiet in school, very rarely in trouble, I masked my difficulties by staying quiet, fading into the background and hoping I wouldn't be seen. I worked hard and got decent grades. I struggled with classroom based lessons and a lot of the time I'd take work to a quiet area or office to complete but I generally did pretty well. Any teachers that noticed my struggles just assumed it must be down to home life because I didn't completely fit the stereotypical "ASD and ADHD student."

All my difficulties were turned internally. To most people I was just a "weird/quirky student." I've never felt "normal", never fit into anyone's boxes and never really belonged but in 30+ years I just kind of accepted that's just the way it is.

It took a University lecturer and therapist to approach me with their thoughts and advised me to book an appointment with my GP for when it was confirmed I felt such a relief because for the first time in my life so much made sense! I know what I am dealing with and what I have always dealt with is real and can finally start to learn more about how to emphasise the positive aspects and work on the not so positive.

Better late than never I guess eh?!

#Autism #ASD #ADHD #NeurodiverseWomen #WomenWithADHD #WomenWithAutism

"𝑃𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑠: 𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑦, 𝑙𝑎𝑧𝑦, 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟. 𝑀𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖-𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝐺𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝐴𝐷𝐻𝐷 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑡 34 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 34 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠. 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝑆𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑓𝑢𝑙." - 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛.

This! It's not about labelling it's about understanding. I never expected to be diagnosed with ADHD and ASD - especially in my 30s! Even when it was suggested and I was referred for assessments, I never thought I'd be diagnosed. I mean, how have I made it to 30 without it ever being picked up? Well, with great difficulty! I was very quiet in school, very rarely in trouble, I masked my difficulties by staying quiet, fading into the background and hoping I wouldn't be seen. I worked hard and got decent grades. I struggled with classroom based lessons and a lot of the time I'd take work to a quiet area or office to complete but I generally did pretty well. Any teachers that noticed my struggles just assumed it must be down to home life because I didn't completely fit the stereotypical "ASD and ADHD student."

All my difficulties were turned internally. To most people I was just a "weird/quirky student." I've never felt "normal", never fit into anyone's boxes and never really belonged but in 30+ years I just kind of accepted that's just the way it is.

It took a University lecturer and therapist to approach me with their thoughts and advised me to book an appointment with my GP for when it was confirmed I felt such a relief because for the first time in my life so much made sense! I know what I am dealing with and what I have always dealt with is real and can finally start to learn more about how to emphasise the positive aspects and work on the not so positive.

Better late than never I guess eh?!

#Autism #asd #ADHD #NeurodiverseWomen #WomenWithADHD #WomenWithAutism

A lot of people always talk about children and teens on the spectrum but unfortunately they usually forget the fact that they grow up to be adults on the spectrum. Here are a few of my personal thoughts on why they need to talk about it more.

The 22nd Birthday curse.

Unfortunately adults with ASD that passes that age will no longer go to special education, however two ones who are lucky enough to have their lives said for the adult child before the age well others are not so lucky. I wish people in their local community would step in and help out to those who are struggling to transition adulthood.

Pregnant woman while actually on the spectrum.

So many people talked about having the chances of caring a child and made available autism while in the world but what people really talked about is women on the spectrum experiencing pregnancy, hopefully in the next 10 years woman with AST who experience motherhood will be open about what it’s like so people on the spectrum depending on the person would have a better idea imagining have a child of their own.

Adult with autism can find love get married like other people.

it’s very rare that people would read about love stories about both people on the spectrum dating or one person on the spectrum in a relationship with a normal person, hopefully on next years autism wearing this month I want more people with AST to come out with their love stories on being a relationship, recently got engaged and a married life.

People with ASD open about experiencing special Ed.

Now and day’s since most of them who were born the late eighties/early to late nineties are lucky enough to open about experience in special education, usually it’s good or bad as long as they open about it the more likely teachers will get a better idea what they can do better so current students won’t have to deal with depending on the situation

Autistics experiencing sex.

I know some parents are very worried about their adult child having sex before marriage but however eventually it will happen their lifetime, I understand worried about their safety but let them experience it while they can, Hopefully adults with will come out about their stories about it so people get the idea.

Living independently.
It can be a tough one to talk about but yet it’s still happening, finding a place on your own while on the spectrum can be hard (depending on the person) some people on the higher end are more likely to be independent while other’s on the lower end not so much.

#AdultsWithAutism #WomenWithAutism #AutismEmployment #AutismAndSex