Autism Survival Manual - Girls and Autism

[n31348]

Hi, I'm 28 and female. Thanks for making this video. I am a lot quieter/more passive than most guys with Aspergers but I have also always had really strong obsessions with various subjects, luckily this was something I could use academically so my Aspergers has been a huge blessing as well as a source of problems. As a child and teenager I was a loner with bad social skills, but since leaving home at 18 I have caught up somewhat by analysing others so now I can mostly mask my AS when I want to.

[happydorkgirl]

I am female, 29, and very recently diagnosed Aspergers. This video did help me very much. :)

[weaveintothewin2]

@happydorkgirl cool thanks glad my video helped you :-)

[ihatenumbers987]

I'm a 13 year old girl and I think I have autism/Aspergers. I often don't speak to people in conversation unless asked to, with my very close family and friends being an exception. I tend to have difficulty expressing my true emotions to others. Also, I usually learn basic social cues from past experience, or from watching others in conversation.

[weaveintothewin2]

@ihatenumbers987 well if its anything like here in the uk it is far easier to get diagnosed in school though the learning support teachers or learning support office if you have one if not you can get a referral from your doctor or go though a charity for people with autism hope that helps

[sasto65]

Thankyou. I've enjoyed many of your videos. I'm a female with ASD. I do the behavior you described, not speaking unless asked. It's not shyness in my case, but a lack of understanding conversational rhythms. If I'm asked, then I know it's my turn. Sometimes I can exchange for a few sentences before going quiet. If there is more than one other person, there is so much for me to understand. In listening, I can forget to talk.

[weaveintothewin2]

@sasto65 thanks for your input and views really helps create a fully picture for everyone :-)

[Sicowkaksin]

This information isn't accurate for me but it might be for others.

[weaveintothewin2]

@Sicowkaksin no probs sorry it wasn't true for you :-) i'll try and improve the information as there is more available.

[Stephitza]

Hi, just wanted to thank you for making this video! It made me cry!!

I saw others in the comments were saying girls aren't passive unless they are depressed, and that is not true at all. Girls actually learn to camouflage their social confusion through passivity. Passivity in this case is a technique to cope in social situations, not necessarily a reflection of low mood, although that may be present as well. Thanks again for making this video and thinking about the girls! :)

[weaveintothewin2]

@Stephitza no probs glad you liked it it's good to get feedback because as an autistic spectrum male i have no idea if my video is correct from the information i found around the net so it's good to get feed back :-)

[weaveintothewin2]

@ColombianaXO7 thanks for your views on this as a male with autism i'm not sure if my video was accurate so its good to have people validating my information :-)

[janegirl138]

@weaveintothewin2 unfortunately true, it was only the 1950 that saw doctors being educated on woman's anatomy out side of obstetrics. It's not just the stigma of Autism but the long time habit of doctors to medicate a "hysterical" woman/children. Thank you for posting this piece Weave, I'm still learning about my diagnosis too... a bit sad the best info I've found has come from other Aspies/ASDs here on YT.

[weaveintothewin2]

@janegirl138 no probs as soon as theres more info i intended to revisit this video with an updated version :-)

[janegirl138]

Women or girls with autism have the same perceived problems or traits as the men do but most women get diagnosed as depressed and slapped on medication. They think there is something deeply wrong with them and they never connect or "get better". The numbers I've heard most recently say 2 girls for ever 5 boys. I can tell you this number is SERIOUSLY underestimated. I have 3 aunts, 1 mother, 1 sister, 4 cousins and 1 daughter and myself all Aspies. All diagnosed depressed first.

[weaveintothewin2]

@janegirl138 i wish more research would be done with women. its the same story with what happened with men we used to be diagnosed with things like bi-polar etc now they know its autism.  women getting these old diagnosises says that medical research is years behind with women.

thanks for your info its great because theres very little info about women and autism.

[alikidry]

i really like this video, in spite of the errors. i am an adult female aspie and i'm actually quite gregarious in expression (tho was not always the case). that actually was the only reason some therapists (males) were unwilling to call me aspie, even tho i meet the other criteria. ergo, blending in isn't the only reason we get misdx'd. a female dr. finally recognized it for what it is. this video is a great start, tho!

[iamher87]

I had meltdown like any autistic does...

Was egocentric

Liked more objects than people.

Had collections

[iamher87]

Well, as a kid I had no interest in people. What made me change was the fact I had contact with the christian faith, so, I changed and started paying attention to people. So, please, do not spread lies on autism on girls. Autism is never passive, unless you have DEPRESSION.

[iamher87]

Well, as a kid I had no interest in people. What made me change was the fact I had contact with the christian faith, so, I changed and started paying attention to people. So, please, do not spread lies on autism on girls.

[loneshewolf74]

When I was a little girl I was the opposite of shy or passive, I was quite outgoing and curious about everything... sometimes too much for my own good! It was when I became a teenager that I really started having problems and became passive and withdrawn. I would collect lots of dolls and stuffed animals even though my mom thought I was too old for them. I was also overweight almost my whole life even though I developed anxieties about eating, but not from fear of gaining weight.

[weaveintothewin2]

@loneshewolf74 cool thanks for that info really helps to have peoples views as there's no information on this and there should be more so it helps when people give there personal input on it.

[iamher87]

@loneshewolf74 Girls are not passive unless they are depressive. We have lifelong interest just as boys, some of us get depressed because people say we are " too" old for that.

[misstiggykins]

I have high functioning autism and was anorexic, but my anorexia had nothing to do with image, vanity, or looking good; my behaviours were related to control - i.e. control of my emotions (especially anxiety) and the world around me. Too often anorexia and other eating disorders are associated with image, especially body image, but anorexia nervosa is more a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, not an image disorder. Good video though, and thanks for raising awareness of autism in girls/women.

[weaveintothewin2]

@misstiggykins thanks for the info on anorexia i wish this video had more information but as i said all the studies have been done on boys with autism for some reason. I think they should do some studies on girls aswell cause then its fair.

[misstiggykins]

@weaveintothewin2 - I agree that there needs to be much more research on autism in women, and it's great that you highlight some of the differences in this video :)

[weaveintothewin2]

@misstiggykins well as soon as more research is done ill update this video :-)