Autistic women who received their diagnoses later in life are working to address a significant knowledge gap, as they share their experiences through writing and advocacy. These women aim to provide visibility and understanding for a demographic often overlooked in historical autism research and public perception. They are actively publishing memoirs and creating online platforms to detail their journeys and the challenges they face.
Morgan, 62, established The Autistic Woman website three years after her own diagnosis. The site serves as a platform for collecting information and personal narratives. "I realised we are often invisible," she stated. "We hide how we are because we are conditioned by society to blend in."
Her recently published memoir, "Mothertongue," re-examines key life events in the context of her diagnosis. Despite a career as a national newspaper journalist, Morgan, who grew up in Edinburgh and now resides in Cumbria, recalled a persistent feeling of not fitting in. As a teenager, she experienced what her general practitioner believed to be a breakdown after viewing "The War Game," a 1960s film depicting the effects of nuclear war. Morgan described intense fear, crying spells, and hypervigilance, which she now recognizes as autistic burnout. "It's when you become totally exhausted with trying to exist in a world that is not designed for how your brain works," she explained. "The world to a lot of us is very loud, very noisy, very crowded, very bright, very smelly, and it's exhausting suppressing your response to all of this and carrying on."
This phenomenon of late diagnosis and the subsequent need for self-advocacy is a common thread among many autistic women. Historically, autism was predominantly understood and diagnosed based on male presentations, leading to many autistic girls and women being misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. The increased recognition of autism in women is prompting a reevaluation of diagnostic criteria and a deeper understanding of neurodiversity across the gender spectrum. These efforts aim to validate the experiences of those who have navigated life without a clear understanding of their neurotype and to support others on similar paths.