Masked Autism Traits in Women

maskedautism.md

• Deep need for alone time.
• Off-beat, well-developed and nuanced sense of humor, often leaning towards more nonsensical comedy.
• Difficulty comprehending sarcasm and satire.
• Intuitive and sensitive to others' feelings to the point of feeling those feelings. (empath)
• Meltdowns typically happen in private. Can look together and social in public, then go into complete shutdown or Hulk mode (or both) at home.
• Deep depth of knowledge and interest around a few topics. Rotating interests as well.
• May develop a deep knowledge of pop-culture out of a desire to fit in.
• Strong intellect with distinct gaps in certain topics.
• High intelligence, analytical with an extensive vocabulary.
• Has many self-taught skills
• Artistic.
• Better with the written word than the spoken word.
• Perfectionist, often gets wrapped up in details but may miss the bigger picture.
• Challenges with executive function, planning, time management and verbal instructions.
• Deeply interested in personality types, astrology, psychology, and behavioral studies. Upon discovering their diagnosis, they realize this was always about cracking the NT code.
• Collects phrases and scripts for common situations. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” “I can’t imagine how you must feel.” Has compassion, but verbalizing it appropriately isn't natural.
• Forgets to include small talk or friendly chit-chat before jumping into the topic at hand. Doesn’t understand why this is needed.
• Will practice conversations before having them, like an actor prepping for a performance.
• Does not like phone calls or unplanned visits or video chats. Needs prep time, even though that prepping causes anxiety.
• Prefers face to face or textual conversation.
• Difficulty interpreting non-verbal communication.
• Over plans and controls when under stress to try and get a sense of safety.
• Sensory issues fluctuate depending on stress. Looks inconsistent or unpredictable, but it is related to the amount of agitation at any given time.
• Often perceived as shy, quirky, odd and unique.
• Trouble with all relationships. Rotates through friends fairly quickly. Can forgive, but has difficulty forgetting and feeling safe once there has been a fallout. Doesn’t let anyone all the way in.
• Intense relationships, often making their significant other their "special interest", and needs daily reassurances of connection from their partner.
• May prefer friends who are younger or older, over friends the same age.
• Often takes on a teacher or student role in friendships.
• Is often accused of being too blunt or being angry when they aren’t, simply based on tone or terseness of language.
• Is considered judgemental but bites their tongue a lot.
• Length of time needed to process and respond to NT required standards is misinterpreted as anger or annoyance.
• Honest to a fault. Can do acrobatics to avoid lying, but can't lie.
• Is seen as low needs, but suffers a lot psychologically and prone to anxiety attacks and mental breakdowns.
• Often socially immature and acts younger than their age. May feel like they never got to have a youth.
• Poor proprioception; clumsy and accident prone.
• May either be hypersensitive and aversive to sensory input (light, noise, smells, tastes, textures, temperature) or hyposensitive and seek sensory input, even at the same time.
• Sensitive to certain types of fabrics and will prefer comfort over being fashionable or stylish.
• Leg bouncing, skin picking, lip biting, swaying, self massage, muscle tensing, frequent stretching, twitching, fidgeting, and other repetitive movements expressed when under stress or discomfort.
• Has been suicidal at least once in their lifetime.
• Needs love and understanding just like everyone else.
• Is tired of accommodating a world not made for them.