Audrey Griffin "Learning, as an adult woman, you have autism"

Learning, as an adult woman, you have autism

Summary: Laura James, a successful female author in her late forties, was recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She was diagnosed almost by accident when she had a meltdown during a hospital stay in 2015. Statistics show that Autism Spectrum Disorder is almost five times more prevalent in boys than girls, but recently scientists have been calling the validity of past studies into question. Many are starting to believe that the autism gender discrepancy might now actually be that significant, but instead the problem is that doctors often misdiagnose female patients with autism due to stereotypes they often have: women are naturally quieter and more reserved. Many women are misdiagnosed with anxiety or eating disorders, when what they really have is some form of autism.

Analysis: This article really interests me because it covers two topics that are close to my heart: autism and feminism. Many people who are "anti-feminist" call themselves that believe that feminism is just women complaining or trying to assert their dominance over men. However, this is not the case. Real feminism covers issues like these: people getting misdiagnosed due to stereotypes which have been in ingrained in the heads of people so intensely that they don't even realize they're there. The same principle extends the opposite way as well. Men are less than half as likely to be diagnosed with a depressive or anxiety disorder than their female counterparts are. Feminism is working towards true equality, which benefits everyone.

Learning, as an adult woman, you have autism