Article about autism and women/girls

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Article about autism and women/girls. (Hope I got the link to work.)

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 07315.html

When I was 15 I stopped eating and drinking. I didn't decide to do that, I just did it. I felt calm and relaxed, as opposed to my usual state of being a nervous wreck. But Mom noticed on Day 3 - okay, she asked me about it on Day 3, as I was going back to school after lunch. And I told her - I didn't think it was unusual. Mom said that there was a lot to talk about but we could do that after school. She said the immediate thing was that if I don't drink water my kidneys will die and so will I. So I had a drink of water and went to school. That evening, Mom served supper and I ate it. The glass of water broke the sweet spell of peace that I had found. I ate normally after that. When I think of the emotions involved, it seems to me that I might have undertaken a form of suicide. I wish Mom hadn't stopped me.

Autistic and anorexic and shizophrenic?
Seems like a rather unfortunate combination.

That is like saying that you cannot die because the only ones that have died are not you, really odd comment.

But I do not understand why anyone would be shocked to hear about an autism diagnosis, it does not make sense in my mind.
I wonder if doctors qualified to diagnose autism would be shocked if they diagnosed their own child with autism.

I was told I couldn't have autism because it only affected children. I have no idea what they thought the autistic child grew up to be. . .

It's a good article. Thanks for the link!

Hmm, interesting. I'm not convinced it's linked to anorexia TBH, but I do think it goes unnoticed in girls a lot. Though, that's probably because girls get it a lot more mild, since their brains are naturally better at socialising than males, and girls are more accepting of "weird" people too. So they don't have tend to enough traits to get diagnosed, and often have no problem with friends either.

I still wish there were more girls who are diagnosed Aspies, though.

Okay, I just clicked on your profile to double check your gender (and yes it says male) because I thought no female growing up and having to go to school with other girls would ever say that girls are "more accepting of weird people." If so I wish I had gone to your school!

Sorry, that's a bit over-the-top, but your comment touched a raw nerve. I suffered terrible bullying throughout my school life. And I find that in my adult life I tend to get on better with men in the work place rather than women because I am not interested in typically female things like getting your hair done or soap operas.

It made me think of this quote from Seinfeld though:

ELAINE: Why do they call it a wedgie?

GEORGE: Because the underwear is pulled up from the back and ... it wedges in..

JERRY: They also have an atomic wedgie. Now the goal there is to actually get the

waistband on top of the head. Very rare.

ELAINE: Boys are sick.

JERRY: Well what do girls do ?

ELAINE: We just tease someone 'til they develop an eating disorder.

Well it's always stupid to say something applies to all of a certain group of people I guess, but in my experience/observations, what I said is true. Not always, but more often than it is for boys anyway.

I suppose, I couldn't really say what it is like to be a boy growing up, so I can't trully compare.

Yeah, I would have to agree with you that the comment that "girls are more accepting of 'weird' people" does not seem to fit. That was not my experience. I was treated like crap by girls and they had very little tolerance for those who are different.

As far as the article goes, I had disordered eating and I have a tendency to over exercise. If I get into a routine, it's very hard to get me out of it. I can also identify getting stuck in details....so much so that it will prevent me from accomplishing a task. This had been an issue in college. I'm not sure if I have AS, but I can sure relate to a lot of what is being said.

I agree, the girls in my school dragged me by the hair, pulled pieces out, and pushed me on the ground all the time for being "weird." And as an adult, I usually get along better with men, for the same reason as you, MBF. I guess it depends on what gender you are to begin with, and how aggressive the kids in your school were.

The article was interesting; at first I thought it didn't make sense, because I always thought of anorexic girls as being overly preoccupied with their appearance, which didn't seem to be an AS quality.

But I can now see the connection to the rigid eating "rules" and such. I hope they extend their research to examine girls with OCD and other disorders as well, because that's probably another place to look for undiagnosed AS girls.

Oh and M_p_furo: re: " I can also identify getting stuck in details....so much so that it will prevent me from accomplishing a task" - that is EXACTLY what I am going through at this exact moment. Trying to figure out how to get out of my current mind-rut by hanging out here lol

Uh...girls are not more accepting of weird people. I had girls bully me incessantly, lie about me, accuse me of assaulting someone I had never even met, and worse. I think girls if anything are worse, boys can get away with being a nerd or withdrawn because it's considered somewhat masculine to have a liking for systems and science or to not talk much. But girls are expected to be overtly caring and socially "agile".

I acknowledge that Aspie girls may be more prone to eating disorders. We are more prone to any mental disorder, from my understanding, and I can see eating disorders may link more to AS problems. However, I hate this idea of anorexia being the female version of Asperger's. Some idiot wrote a paper on it, and when I read the title, I had a meltdown. I was close to someone who suffered severe anorexia, it is not Asperger's. It is obsessive, yes. Is everything obsessive Asperger's? No. Anorexia does not affect social skills. Asperger's doesn't kill people. Anorexia develops as a response to suffering, while people are born with Asperger's.

The idea that people think it only affects males just shows the widespread ignorance of autism. It needs to be addressed!

And I'm very uncertain of the idea that girls are not more accepting of weirdos; mechanicalgirl39 sums this up very well.

My eating habits cycle, from eating an awful lot to forcing myself to eat for periods of time. I'd been to many Psychiatrists before being diagnosed. I was told I'm a danger to myself and others. I was not able to receive the proper care, and I no doubt, suffered because of that. I really hope that changes very soon. I wish there was more openness to the idea that females can have AS too, lord knows there is not enough of it...

Girls are not really any more accepting than boys are--- I grew up as a girl and was usually the target of GIRL bullies. One of the differences between girls and boys, though, is that boys are more physical and girls are more verbal. If a boy doesn't like you and is a bully, he might hit you or push you down. If a girl doesn't like you, she'll tell everyone you're ugly or make some other rumor about you. This is not always the case, but it seemed that way with me.
The funny thing about kids is that they can be so caring and accepting of some things--- they cry when they hear about the sick animal, they feel bad about the children with cancer, they raise money for the orphans of Haiti, etc. But they then turn around and bully the classmate with the old clothes or the one who acts differently. They don't get any less strange as adults, either.

I think cross-gender interactions may be easier (since neither side truly knows what's expected of the other by their peers), giving the impression that the opposite side has it easier. A guy amongst women friends is not held to expectations the same as a woman amongst women, and the same for women who are "one of the boys" -- you're allowed in, but you're not held to male standards as strictly as if you were actually male.