Chart of Autistic Traits in Women | How Did I Miss This Late Autism Diagnosis?

My husband doesn't understand why if we're going to another state to visit friends, I positively don't want to stay at their house. I want to stay at a hotel. I have to feel like I have my own space. Anyone else feel like that?

I always thought that everyone was experiencing what I was experiencing but they were able to handle it waaayy better than me. Especially when my family reinforced that thought. They would say that other people are going through what you’re going through you just have to do this or that. When it came to socializing, they would tell me I just have to practice and it would be so depressing for me because no matter how much I “practiced” is was so hard every single time. So for a long time I thought I was just broken or weak-minded.

As soon as I'm misunderstood, I shut down towards the person for good.

Be social for my kids’ sake is one of the hardest things of parenting for me.

I am 58 years old and I am 95% of this chart!!!!!!!!!! I am crying tears of joy, so many things in my life make sense. I am NOT crazy!!!!!

I think the injustice thing bothers autistic people uniquely bc of the comfort we get from rules. When you are being unjust you are breaking some sort of social contract. We also have to put a lot more effort into learning what the social contract IS in the first place, so when someone breaks it it's distressing

I married a women who became a surgeon and this is her. We are now divorced but in the past I misinterpreted her behaviours and took offence to them. It wasn’t until years later I realised she was on the spectrum through being told my middle daughter was, and once I did some research it all made sense. I see my ex wife differently now.

I felt so strongly about injustices since I was a little girl. When people crossed that line, I was the one calling it out. Despite being an intensely shy, quiet person. I would always feel angry that I had to keep a lid on it. Until I burst. I struggle keeping close friends. I don't like small talk. I dislike the company of many. I prefer my own company. I don't mind talking to strangers. I keep only one barely a friend. I struggled to look at people's eyes. Or talking to them. I am just at a loss with how 'small talk people' get along so well. Sluggishly, going through the same routine everyday. I like variety every day. I run towards the complex. I've shown hyperfocus in all my chosen jobs. I gravitate towards self-help. I am prone to staring at clouds to calm me down. Depression, overwhelm, anxiety, facial blinks, and throat gutteral sounds to stretch - internal tension. And I don't take meds as I hate the taste of them. I take care of my mental health with natural foods, and work hard to exhaustion to sleep. Struggle with sleep. Look so young all my life. I wear so many masks. The hardest thing for me is to pick one career. And now I learn that my weirdness could be autistic?.. wait. I hear a record rip.

One vivid memory of my childhood was my mother always telling me to make eye contact with people. It's still hard for me and I'm 73 years old.

Yea, I've been pretending to be social my whole life, and no one has ever understood why I hate being social because they see how "good" I am with people, but really I am just acting because I don't know what else to do. Thank you for making this video. :)

All. The. Traits! I’m over 70. I am undiagnosed, or rather self-diagnosed. I was,officially diagnosed as neurodivergent. All these things I find out about myself make me want to cry because they all make all the difficult things I have gone through understandable. So I’ve been through a whole life of things I didn’t understand about myself, and been labeled as lazy, or unsociable, or overbearing, all kinds of things that are contradictory, or just plain weird. Ah well. I’m good at masking.

It's so hard to be diagnosed so late in life. While I spent years with people who made fun of me, demanded too much from me and constantly berated me for having 100 percent of these traits that I could not help. Life has been such a struggle I wish there was more awareness that you cannot just demand social norms and energy from people whom it damages so intensely all the time.

I just got diagnosed tonight at age 34!! I spent my whole life feeling odd and exhausted and out of place!

Realizing why people kept looking behind them when we talked in my younger years... because I was constantly shifting my eyes not to look at them directly so I could focus. That in turn made them question if something was behind them 😂. This video was insightful to me even as a male.

When I share with people about my diagnosis, they always look at me like they feel sorry for me. When in actuality it is absolutely the most magnificent gift I’ve ever been given.

Wow this is me all over. I am 75 and always suspected I was Asperger's. I taught Austic children among my many careers and suspect my son is too. I have been misunderstood pretty well my entire life. Animals and nature is a strong part of my life and a very small social circle.

I'm now 60 yrs old .. ive worked with autistic people most of my life, but mostly on the end of the spectrum with significant support needs .. so I never recognised myself as possibly autistic. Im now discovering the differences of female autism.. I tick most boxes on your list. Thank you for sharing.. its very helpful x

This is amazing how much I fit this. I always knew I was different. My brother is on the spectrum, and he was treated so much more gentle than I was, despite us both having the same issues. When I recently tried to ask my mom for help to get a diagnoses (I needed evidence from family members to show to doctor) - she said 'you're not autistic. Girls can't have autism. That's just your Gemini nature'. Devastated.

I'm the one who created this list when I researched and wrote Aspergirls in 2009 (under the name Rudy Simone). I'm very pleased it has taken on a life of its own and brings comfort to so many.

Wow! Learning to be social by watching. That's exactly what I did. As a young woman, I lived in a high profile, artsy town. I went to a lot of exhibit openings because I loved the art and the fancy hors d'oeuvres. 😊 But I had to socialize and interact with people, which I found to be painful if not virtually impossible. There was a lady, very high socially, who I thought was amazing! I used to watch her speaking and intonation, her expressions, hand movements, energy level, how she engaged people. I got it down to a science. Many years later, people think I'm really outgoing when they don't know how I really rather be home doing crossword puzzles.