Help! Are there any women in this Community with ASD

Hi, female Aspie in my fifties here. Self-diagnosed - my GP agreed with me and offered a referral but said I wouldn't get any support even if I was "formally" diagnosed. I didn't see any point after thinking about it, as it would only cause me more stress. Plus the fear of being mis-diagnosed as NT put me off. If that had happened I would have been devastated, as it would mean that I would have no understanding of why I have had the problems I have had. 

I know that I am autistic, and understanding that helps me cope better. I am not an over-sensitive, obsessive-compulsive, stubborn, anti-social woman with some inappropriate interests for my age & gender, I am a female Aspie trying to cope with a world full of noise, smells, unpredictable behaviour and demands to conform to the expectations of the society I live in. I'm reliable, trustworthy, intelligent and well-organised, with a good sense of humour. I may have a low EQ (empathy) score - although I am emotionally empathic - but I have a very high SQ (systemising) score.

I think there are probably a LOT more female Autistics/Aspies than are diagnosed, as we are great at masking it.

By the way, I don't wish to offend but I don't like the term ASD, purely because the D stands for Disorder. For me, Autism as not a disorder or a disability, it's just a true way of describing me.

Hi, female Aspie in my fifties here. Self-diagnosed - my GP agreed with me and offered a referral but said I wouldn't get any support even if I was "formally" diagnosed. I didn't see any point after thinking about it, as it would only cause me more stress. Plus the fear of being mis-diagnosed as NT put me off. If that had happened I would have been devastated, as it would mean that I would have no understanding of why I have had the problems I have had. 

I know that I am autistic, and understanding that helps me cope better. I am not an over-sensitive, obsessive-compulsive, stubborn, anti-social woman with some inappropriate interests for my age & gender, I am a female Aspie trying to cope with a world full of noise, smells, unpredictable behaviour and demands to conform to the expectations of the society I live in. I'm reliable, trustworthy, intelligent and well-organised, with a good sense of humour. I may have a low EQ (empathy) score - although I am emotionally empathic - but I have a very high SQ (systemising) score.

I think there are probably a LOT more female Autistics/Aspies than are diagnosed, as we are great at masking it.

By the way, I don't wish to offend but I don't like the term ASD, purely because the D stands for Disorder. For me, Autism as not a disorder or a disability, it's just a true way of describing me.

Hello Pixiefox. There are a few over 50's contributing to this thread so hope you find it helpful ( but they maybe going over to Facebook).  I think we just have to call ourselves what we feel comfortable doing so whilst hoping not to offend others. I did hear somewhere recently that there are many types of Autism and the person speaking taking all into consideration decided just plain Autistic for all of us was the most appropriate. Names keep changing with all differently abled terms. It is definitely a dilemma whether to go for formal diagnosis or not and I did have the same thoughts on if I didn't get the diagnosis then what is the answer. I'm in the middle of a YouTube film by Rudy Simone which is thought provoking. I definitely think my brain is differently wired and for me at the moment the co existing characteristics has been a disability throughout life. But maybe one day I can turn that around.