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Adult Female with ASD

Oscie

Hello there,

I have an issue that I wanted to ask other mature females with ASD. I am in my late fifties. I have some of the classic signs of autism for as long as I can remember. However, over the decades I have 'tweaked' them to appear like everyone else. This is now working against me, as at my ASD assessment the assessor said she thought that I just have a sensory disorder, but that doesn't explain all the other issues mainly with communication that I have. I tried to be as authentic as possible, but I am concerned now that the masking has left it's mark so well, that it almost feels part of me without me being aware. I am worried about being under diagnosed, especially as she mentioned the lack of services!

I am not too sure what to do about this, any advice would be welcomed.

Parents

  • Masking is one of the concepts I struggled most with.  It sounds disingenuous, as though pretending to be somebody else, which I'm sure I don't.  Once I understood it to be that collection of coping strategies I've been unwittingly  developing and using all my life though it made sense.

    Yes, some of us are so good at coping in other ways that it 'masks' the traits that would have been glaringly obvious when we were babies.  Sadly, to see behind the mask requires an understanding and skill that not all assessors have.  Some still are not aware of the more subtle presentations of autistic adults.

  • in reply to Dawn

    Thanks Dawn, my thoughts exactly. Maybe in an ideal world autistic peers would be consulted by assessors for diagnosis purposes, as I really think it takes one to know one, even with the various presentations.

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