The Autism Spectrum and Me

 Symbolic Interactionism and Women on the Autism Spectrum As a woman on the autism spectrum, I am, naturally, very interested in the lives and experiences of other people on the autism spectrum, especially other women. Autistic people, as a rule, are often misunderstood and mistreated by society at large, and this is especially true for autistic women. Due to the historical assumption that autism is a condition that mainly affects boys and is best understood by the study of the behaviors of autistic boys, girls and women on the spectrum are constantly overlooked. We are more likely to go undiagnosed, more likely to only be diagnosed in adulthood, sometimes after years of bullying, and much less likely to be accepted by other people as "truly autistic". One of the most useful sociological frameworks for understanding the struggles faced by women on the autism spectrum is that of symbolic interactionism.  Symbolic interactionism, at its core, is the idea that social interaction...

  Women and Autism: Past and Present Being a woman on the autism spectrum can be incredibly difficult. Not only do they have to face all the challenges and difficulties that every person with autism experiences while interacting with a world that doesn't understand them or the way that they think, but they also have to deal with the fact that, historically speaking, autism has been perceived as a predominantly, if not exclusively, male phenomenon. The disorder was usually described in terms of how it presented in males, and girls tended to have to be more noticeably autistic than boys to even get diagnosed. As a result, understanding and acceptance of girls and women on the autism spectrum lags behind that of boys and men even today.  A Brief History of Autism  However, in order to truly understand the history of how women with autism have been treated, we must first look at the history of autism in general. The condition that we now recognize as autism was first des...

A major portion of this blog will be focusing on the problems faced by women on the autism spectrum. I came by my interest in this topic naturally. As a woman on the spectrum, I have a personal connection to the topic, and I have a lot of firsthand knowledge about what it is like to be a woman on the spectrum. For example, I was not formally diagnosed with autism until I was 17 years old. This is in part due to the fact that I did not struggle in school, but it is also intrinsically linked to my gender. Autism has long been typified as a male disorder, and, as a result of this, women on the spectrum are often overlooked by parents, teachers, and professionals, especially if they are verbal. In the United States, the diagnostic rate for autism in boys in 1 in 42. In girls, it is 1 in 189. Many women on the spectrum, myself included, have theorized that this discrepancy is due in part to the fact that women present symptoms of autism differently than men and in part due to the fact that ...

 In addition to being a psychology major who's on the autism spectrum, I am also a huge nerd. Thus, if I continue this blog after I finish my college project, it's very likely that I will talk about Transformers and the Flash in addition to psychology and life on the spectrum.  https://media.proprofs.com/images/QM/user_images/2503852/New%20Project%20(31)(101).jpg https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/7/7f/The_Flash_Vol_1_174.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080617171725 Here's another kitten.  https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bigstock-Little-Striped-Cute-Kitten-Sit-244080397.jpg

 Hi!  As the name of this blog suggests, I am on the autism spectrum. This blog has been created for two reasons. First, it is part of a project I am completing for college. Second, it will allow me to talk about the issues that are important to me, such as mental health and what it's like to be a woman on the autism spectrum. I hope you find this blog to be informative and entertaining.  Here's a cute kitten.  Image Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Flaist.com%2F2019%2F05%2F09%2Fkitten_crisis_kitten_cafe_los_angeles_adoptions_foster.php&psig=AOvVaw1R1vNhH5xoRRZ1CXYFiT21&ust=1611697981589000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCODarJ-JuO4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD