Aspergirls

July 1, 2022 at 10:14 am (Uncategorized)

My daughter Lizzie was diagnosed with Autism earlier this year. They classified her as Level 2 which is largely meaningless (every autistic person is wildly different from every other autistic person) except it means she can mostly deal with mainstream school but also gets funding for therapy.

Sometimes ‘mild’ (again, a problematic term) autism is called Asperges. Lizzie and I quite like the term “Aspergirl” because it sounds like a superhero. It’s very likely that Tim and I are also autistic, although our lives are clearly much easier than hers.

Autism comes with both advantages and disadvantages. It’s much harder to diagnose in girls as they present differently. I saw this on FaceBook (with the original link long since broken) and was fascinated. I took screenshots, and have commented on the screenshots.

Uh yes, I don’t even wear long sleeves (unless it’s under about 5 degrees Celsius, and sometimes not even then) because they bother me.

I often don’t brush my hair and I almost never wear makeup.

Eccentric personality. Well, yes.

No, I wouldn’t say I’m youthful for my age (immature in some respects, sure), or more/less expressive than the mainstream, or androgynous at all. Lizzie and I are both hyper-feminine in style (I wear skirts and dresses all the time; she wears pink; we both maintain long hair despite finding it a hassle). I’ve read elsewhere that being really really into gender roles OR really not into them are both autistic traits.

I test as INFP/INFJ on Myers-Briggs tests (and yes I know they’re not scientific). INFPs in particular are famous for being a different person in different situations, and not being able to turn it off. I had a boyfriend that I broke up with because he expected me to be depressed and needy… so I was.

I think this blog and my entire life support the film/books addiction.

Ah yes, being hyper controlling in order to cope with stuff. Ask anyone who has ever tried to do anything with me, including the recent ZamZam Foundation launch. I can delegate, and I can handle having stuff delegated to me, but I have to be able to say no to stuff.

Home is my safe place—which is difficult when I don’t live alone.

Classic gifted kid.

I’m a writer with a double degree.

I’m not super great at being employed but I’m fantastic at being self-employed.

I’m intelligent but verbal instructions have always been a big weakness for me. People often accuse me of pretending to be stupid when I genuinely don’t ‘get’ what’s going on.

My obsessive writing is more or less socially acceptable.

Yes I’m emotionally sensitive. And I have an anxiety disorder and clinical depression, so… yes.

My computer deleted a draft of this blog entry and I don’t feel like re-writing, but I’ll leave the rest of the article here for you. And a pic of my cats.