Trying my best while taking 10 hour naps.

Credit: https://imgur.com/gallery/4LXnrWO

Companion: *disliked that*

Sole: *appreciate companion* 

The often-misdiagnosed adult female autistic phenotype (those assigned female at birth) may appear as the following traits:

• Highly sensitive, intelligent, anxious, easily overwhelmed by environment and socializing

• Good at giving the appearance of social success but struggles to understand and maintain it

• Repetitive movement/behavior that can be well hidden, as “masking” helps them fit in

• Preference for fixed routines and rituals

• Intense special interests that can change over time, extensive knowledge of

certain subjects, often used to escape from stress

• Disorganized or poor eye contact, which can also be “masked” when trying to fit in

• Trouble interpreting nonverbal communication

• Can have a history of changing jobs, majors in school, changing friend groups, moving

• Often perceived by others as a “Luna Lovegood” type: quirky, odd and unique

Sensory

• Sensory processing difficulties can appear as both:

hypersensitivity to light, noise and other senses

hyposensitivity and sensation-seeking

• Poor proprioception, clumsiness, accident prone

• Stimming (self-stimulating repetitive behavior) can appear as fidgeting, leg bouncing, head scratching, massaging self, swaying when standing, humming, cracking knuckles, biting lip, tensing muscles and more

• Sensitive to certain fabrics, may have preference for comfortable rather than fashionable clothing

• Need to be in control of environment: adjust lighting, volume, etc.

• Hypersensitivity to medications, caffeine, drugs/alcohol

• Hypersensitive to certain foods/prone to food intolerances, may be a picky eater and have GI issues

Social

• Often seen as shy and introverted in an uncomfortable setting but can be bossy with a need for order and control in a comfortable setting

• Can be too honest, socially immature, unaware of social rules, have difficulty reading others or seeing their perspective

• May adopt alternative personas, a chameleon who changes personalities according to social setting

• May identify someone who is popular as “socially successful” and try to mimic their behavior, clothing, body language, interests, etc.

• Difficulties with conflict resolution: will people-please as a way to avoid conflict and prone to “burning b ridges” as a way to escape conflict

• Intense relationships or friendships, romantic partner often becomes the “special

interest,” they may require daily verbal reassurance of their partner’s feelings for them

• May prefer friends younger or older to peers their own age, taking on roles as the “teacher” with younger friends or “student” with older friends

• Preference for one-on-one social interactions, may prefer friendships with males as they are easier to understand that female friendship dynamics

• May prefer online socializing to in-person and prefer texting to other forms of communication

Emotion

• Physical and emotional exhaustion from socializing, usually needing to isolate

themselves and recharge after socializing

• May have chronic low self-esteem from feeling different and less successful at life

• Emotional melt-downs/shutting down can occur in response to feeling overwhelmed

• Lacks ability to describe emotions, manage emotions, and read emotions of other people

• Self-medicating with drugs or alcohol and/or self-harm can result from inability to cope with feelings

• Difficulty regulating emotions and trouble in relationships can be misinterpreted and are often misdiagnosed as Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder & more

Cognitive

• Highly intelligent and analytical

• Black or white (all or nothing) thinking

• Ability to focus intently but can be easily distracted in overwhelming environment

• Autodidactic, has many self-taught skills

• Perfectionistic, great attention to detail but can fail to see bigger picture

• Takes things literally

• Challenges with executive function, planning, time management, following through with plans

• Difficulty comprehending certain types of humor like sarcasm, may prefer more

obvious, nonsensical humor to other types

• Lack understanding of own identity and how they’re perceived by others

Common comorbidities with ASD

· Food intolerances or allergy (11%)

· Respiratory allergies (19%)

· Skin allergies (17%)

· Anorexia nervosa (23%)

· OCD (30%)

· Depression (20%)

· Anxiety (40-80%)

· Sensory processing disorder (40-80%)