A couple of us were discussing being autistic adults, and autistic women, and how challenging it can be, especially to get a diagnosis. As I think I've mentioned before, I'm self-diagnosed, and I'm happy with that identity and don't feel like I need to pursue a medical diagnosis for myself. Another mum was saying that she is in the process of being diagnosed - her GP has referred her - and thinks having that officially acknowledged will be of benefit to her. Another mum joined the discussion and said she has had the same experience, and has only recently come to feel comfortable in herself. She has learned, particularly through drama, how to act normal, but were she in her home environment she would be a bit more flamboyant and excitable. Out of the group of seven mums this morning, four of us definitely consider ourselves somewhere on the autistic spectrum, with another having never thought about it before, but was relating to what we were saying.
Then the discussion moved on to whether autism was statistically higher in the HE community? Anecdotally, we all agreed it was. Perhaps it is because our children may have suffered at school, or perhaps we knew they weren't going to fit before even sending them, and from exploring our children we notice the autism in ourselves? Or maybe, because we have fought our whole lives to be ourselves, it isn't that much more of a push to free our thinking beyond a schooled education to something that suits the individual?
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