Autism Acceptance Month

Millie2787

I’ve been having a big think and we’ll hear goes nothing . Yesterday marked the start of Autism awareness month and today autism awareness day ,something that is very close to my heart indeed.

I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when I was 18 , I am now 21. It’s not uncommon for girls and women to be diagnosed in later life , there’s many statistics that support the fact that boys are 3 times more likely to get a diagnosis than girls. Why that is , who knows .

But one thing I did want to challenge and to show is that autism doesn’t hold be back in any way whatsoever, I have chaired a Conference and spoke Infront of hundreds of people about my caring experiences, I have been to London where I was chief navigator of the tubes and anyone who has been to London knows that not an easy task.

I have started my nursing degree which involved me moving out of my family home and beginning to live independently, which don’t get me wrong has is to challenge( I still text mum asking is certain things can be washed together or put in the tumble dryer 🤣) and I continue on a daily basis to challenge the misconceptions around autism .

My autism doesn’t hold me back it just means I view the world differently to everyone else and I hope that along with me and any other autistic individuals that you know … that you continue to accept us for who we are that I know every single one of you here already does 🫂

One last thing I wanted to share with you all is the Advert vanish recently aired on channel 4 , Showing the comfort of familiar clothing and focusing specifically on female ASD

https://youtu.be/DLuqZn_FMSg

Abigail

Sadly statistics don't stop there. I too am autistic and was diagnosed in my first year of uni. 2 years on im graduating. Men/male humans are more likely to be accepted and support with there autism than females are. By brother was diagnosed at an early aged with both adhd and autism. Autism is genetic but not everyone wants a diagnoses and show off. Being diagnosed means I know why things happen. I tried my graduation dress on the other day it was off on 2 minutes because of the texture of it. It's nice and suits me but I know it's all from the texture and I would know that if it wasn't for my autism. I would have put it down as being something else if it wasn't for my autism.

ebyrne556

Hi everyone. Firstly thanks for sharing your stories a bit your all amazing.
Secondly I have a tv show recommendation Im not sure if you guys have read it or heard of it but its called A Kind Of Spark and its on CBBC iplayer.The book was written by Elle mcNicoll and i know its sort of aimed at younger age groups mabye than in this community but ive been watching it over the weekend and being neurodivergent myself ive really related to it. The representation is great and especially as majority of the cast and crew are neurodivergent plus the 3 main character are all girls!

https://youtu.be/1-zTNFdac8Y

Heres the trailer for it. Lemme know if you guys like it or try it and happy acceptance month.Have a great Monday

Amy22

I really am glad that this has been posted as someone who identifies as female and neurodivergent, I feel that a lot of women and young girls will be misdiagnosed. Growing up neurodiverse, I often felt that there was more of a focus on males with autism compared to females who do have it. I still feel like these conventions need to be challenged still today as a lot of women will have a late diagnosis compared to males who are often diagnosed in childhood.

Speaking of autism awareness month, I wanted to mention two documentaries that I have recently watched on Iplayer which give a very very good insight into what it is like being neurodivergent.
Christine Mcguinesses' documentary is brilliant and explains what autism is like for girls.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001k31t/christine-mcguinness-unmasking-my-autism

Another one is by Chris Packham which is very very insightful as there is animated sections which I really loved.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0bbnh47/inside-our-autistic-minds

There is also the show I am currently watching called 'The Good Doctor' which is on Channel 4. I will be honest I am not 100% happy with the representation because of how they done the main character. Also, it does focus on a male with autism but who is enrolled at a hospital to be a surgeon. It's very interesting to see the perspective of how the hospital take him on.

sinead276

First of all well done to you being so open on your stories with being autistic/neurodivergent and the experience in terms of being diagnosed when you were a bit older

While I’m not autistic myself, I have studied it as part of my psychology degree and so have some understanding of the challenges girls face in particular with receiving a diagnosis and support they need.

Hopefully more gets done in the future to help us diagnose girls earlier on so that they can grow and progress in life with the right support for them.

Also I’ll be sure to check out those documentaries at some point they sound super interesting

Sending lots of hugs
Sinead

SpaceOtter

This is a great post. Made me feel less alone. Im struggling writing how i feel about stuff.

But i just wanted to say theres a show on netflix heartbreak high, with an autistic character Quinni played by an autistic actress.

TW- The show deals with some tougher things as well. But abelism is also shown.

Azziman

Love this post @Millie2787 - thanks so much for sharing! It's great to hear all the cool things you've been able to do, and I'm sure your post will resonate with lots of people here. The Vanish advert tells a really important story about autism, especially for girls - and as others here have shown, it's one of quite a few pieces of media that have been released about autism. It's really good to see all the content that's being put out there to portray autism and provide both information and entertainment about it!

Emma_

I love this thread @Millie2787 thankyou for starting it! And thankyou everyone for being open and sharing your experiences too

I actually went along to the Vanish x Ambitious about Autism exhibition they had going in London last week. It was soo cool and pretty moving too. You can read more about the whole partnership here: https://www.vanish.co.uk/press-centre/ambitious-about-autism/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw27mhBhC9ARIsAIFsETHxJxj91EV_zWg71WD6hQKr2u-mT5nmr1Xgx3STzrabOseaooEVwRUaAucVEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Such an important piece of work to raise awareness of the issues for girls and non - binary peeps when trying to get diagnosed and supported.

BensonE

Millie I wasn't diagnosed till I was 11 (I'm now almost 20) so late diagnose is common and the 1 thing I hate is how we get treated differently