Steve Silberman, who is for my money the best and most sensitive NT journalist when it comes to writing about people with autism, has written a great profile of Rudy Simone, who wrote the book Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome
One of the reasons many women on the spectrum have to survive on the wrong planet for decades before getting a diagnosis is because all women are taught to minimize their eccentricities by mimicking and echoing their peers. (For similar reasons, many lesbians only realize that they’re gay in middle age.) Aspie guys can also be more confrontational than Aspergirls, and quicker to erupt in rage when their senses get overloaded, which brings their condition to the attention of parents and teachers. This may have as much to do with traditional gender roles as it does with the distinctive traits of men and women with autism.
Even after diagnosis, life as an Aspergirl can be particularly tough. Frequently stereotyped as “high-functioning,” Aspie women have to endure people telling them that their autism isn’t “that bad” — while inwardly, they’re melting down in the face of hyper-stimulation and social cues they find difficult to parse. In general, women are taught to suffer their tribulations in silence; the extra effort of maintaining a high-functioning facade is exhausting for Aspergirls and can get worse as they grow older, says Simone.
Another problem Aspergirls face as they age is that nearly all of the support services available for autistic people are targeted to children and their families. While millions of dollars are raised every year for research into the causes of autism and therapeutic interventions for kids, very little money is available for employment counseling and other services for autistic adults.
The whole article is worth reading. It also highlights a group interview that Silberman and Simone are doing on The Well.
