Autism in women: how my late diagnosis allowed me to fully accept myself (@potentia.neurodiversity)

Hello, I'm Alex, newly diagnosed autistic and Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of the Neurodiversity Foundation. Like so many autistic women, I had no idea until much later in life. As a result, I spent so many years camouflaging myself as a coping strategy to blend in with my surroundings – meaning I copied other people's traits as a survival mechanism just to get through social situations and challenges. overly stimulating environments. I had no idea why certain things in life seemed so much harder for me than my peers (cough, cough – it was because I was trying to make myself neurotypical and live up to the expectations of the NT, which I have since transferred to my own neurodivergents). expectations!).

Learning that I have autism completely changed my life. I was months into what I now know is called “autistic burnout” because my body became physically incapable of masking and blending in at the rate I was pushing myself. This burnout was a blessing in disguise, because all the while I was internally changing my expectations of myself to match the person I REALLY wanted to be and the life I REALLY wanted to live. My story unfolded on tiktok over the last 7 months, you can view it here (I documented the whole process through my tiktok videos): https://www.tiktok.com/@potentia.neurodiversity? langen

The Neurodiversity Foundation is built by Neurodiverse for Neurodiverse. All of our community projects are assessed through an empowerment lens, meaning we take a strengths-first approach, so individuals feel proud of their identity rather than limited by it. As Chief Experience Officer, I conduct research into the experiences of autistic people. My ultimate goal is to provide an empowering, educational and comfortable experience for neurodiverse individuals through Neurodiversity Foundation community projects that are engaging, validating and positive.

This video is inspired by our Diagnosing Women project which aims to improve the currently limited access to autism diagnoses for women (AFAB) by 1) guiding late-diagnosed autistics through the collection of "biodata" and the process of self-assessment through a strengths lens. to determine whether or not they should conduct a diagnosis and 2) create a registry of providers who have been “community approved” as having appropriate knowledge on the subject.

Here are the links to the online autism screening assessments referenced in the video:

RDOS Aspie quiz: https://rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

RAADS-R (Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised): https://www.aspietests.org/raads/

CAT-Q (Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire): https://embraceasd.com/tags/camouflaging-autistic-traits-questionnaire-cat-q/

You can find me on Instagram and Linked In here:
LI: (Alexandra Pearson)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-pearson-40ba69140/
IG: (@alexpearson10)
https://www.instagram.com/alexpearson10/?hlen

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