The Truth About Autistic Females

by Elesia Ashkenazy · 2009-04-30 16:00:00 UTC
Topics:

[Ed. This is today's second guest post--I'll post about what I was up to instead of writing on Wednesday, promise!]

a black and white vintage looking photo of a girl of about 6 or 7 running across a very narrow wooden pedestrian bridge holding a net up in her right hand and grinningGreetings and salutations Change.org readers! When I asked Dora which of my previous posts received the most attention, she mentioned Blasting Stereotypes in Autistic Females, hence the inspiration for this post. Oh, and by the way, the girl with the gorgeous pointe shoes on (in the photo below) is me.

Okay, I lied. That girl in the photo below is not me. But it could have been me, right? That is if I were a dancer for Oregon Ballet Theater. Oh well, a lady can dream. My point--no pun intended--is that it is not beyond the realms of autism for an autistic female to have a special interest in something like ballet.a colorful costume shop in the background, a young woman dressed in silver shorts, shirt, and many rings and bracelets stands on a chair and strikes a ballet pose in pink pointe shoes

One of the autism advocacy groups I am involved with, here in Portland, has quite an array of autistic females with various interests. We have a ballet dancer (me), three artists who enjoy painting, a beadwork designer, a gymnast, a glam rock fan, and a Benny & Joon fanatic. That noted, we all have extremely individual appearances including tastes in clothing and hair styles, as well as unique mannerisms, nuances, and perspectives.

The males in our group are almost all heavily drawn to computers. Video games are also popular. One of our guys is a comic book collector and another one is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) enthusiast--much to Dora's and my delight!

In the name of education, I am going to expose some personal bits of myself:

  • I despise having to get ready for the day, but I go all out using fancy girly stuff in the shower, even delving into a little make-up and hair product when I get out. Then I dress in what I perceive to be fashionable, yet simple, clothing.
  • No matter what I may look like on the outside, on the inside, my executive functioning skills are unreliable and extremely fragile to the effects of stress. Though I should win an oscar for putting on a pleasant social face and for having *stellar* eye contact (largely due to my hearing loss and the need to read lips), I am constantly monitoring myself out of fear that I will say or do something unexpected and/or inappropriate.
  • I am the polar opposite of the type of person who needs to be around people at all times.
  • I have difficulty caring for people other than myself. Did I mention that I have two kids?
  • I struggle with simple math.
  • I have severe sensory issues, especially with certain types of noises, visual distractions, and touches.
  • I have mild motor planning issues.
  • I have absolutely no instinct that propels me to feel sorry for things that seem trivial or easily fixed with logic.
  • I experience difficulty with certain types of changes or transitions.
  • The Neurotypicals (written with love) in my life have field days teasing me about my narrow interests and passions.
  • Watch out, I've been known to monologue--especially on the phone.

So what does all of this mean? Why am I sharing, or rather airing, this small list of things about myself? What's the point?

In all honesty, I am but one teensy drop of water in the sea of autistic females. I'm one wave, one tide, and one grain of sand. Simply put, I am but a small part of a dynamic subset of nature.

What exactly is the truth about autistic females?

Drum roll...autistic females are individuals with sames and differences just like any other factor belonging to the human population. Are the differences between people with blond hair and blue eyes not infinite? Of course, and so much so that only the eyes and hair color can be counted on as identifying factors.

Let's hope to see some real changes for females in the DSM V Autism Spectrum Condition criteria expected in 2012. Too many autistic females are being misdiagnosed, or declined a diagnosis, due to the rampant misunderstandings surrounding us. This is detrimental to both the psyche and well-being of this autistic spectrum population.

With there being so much more to learn about autism and its many expressions, why are males and females being thrown into the same box? Or even worse, denied a distinction?

Elesia Ashkenazy
PREVIOUS STORY:
The 5% Primary Care Bonus: More Trouble Than It's Worth?
NEXT STORY:
Why I'm Asking Aetna to Cover My Surgery

COMMENTS (12)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.