Another prominent T claiming to be a little bit autistic

[Autisticappropriation]

I know this is my sole topic of conversation but it’s so bloody important that biological women are not erased from the autistic spectrum by biological men claiming to be autistic. It’s hard enough to get diagnosed if you’re female without having diagnostic criteria appropriated and dictated by males. It took decades for the male brain aspect of autism to be binned.

A prolific twitter transperson is now claiming to be “a bit autistic”. The fact this person is an absolute walloper doesn’t really help and it’s entirely wrong to claim you’re a bit autistic - you either are or you aren’t. Just like sex you don’t get to pick and choose which bits of autism you get to experience. It forms your entire experience of the world. You cannot be a little bit autistic just like
You cannot be female with a penis.

I can’t talk about this on autistic twitter as so many have been brainwashed? Manipulated? I’m not sure what, but a certain contingent of trans & autistic advocates get very aggressive and persistent if you disagree with them and I can’t face the onslaught of trans and autistic hate that would ensue.

Just needed to rant about this.

Before I learned more about autism I used to say my youngest brother was "a little autistic". When and where we grew up was so far behind on even just recognising autism, he never got any treatment, he was just treated like a stupid little bastard by the teachers for the first four years of school (still full on raging about that). Then my parents had a huge fight and after that he attended a special needs school. Opposing arguments centred on his mental health and sense of self-worth vs high expectations leading to higher achievement. My parents decided to err on the side of the former and it was the right choice.

But the funny thing is even though that triad of impairment fully applies to him he wasn't ever properly diagnosed as autistic. Now he simply will not submit to be tested and my parents strongly object to us even mentioning the a-word or referencing his impairments in his presence.

So I find it incredibly offensive when someone lays claim to the autism label to make themselves sound or seem interesting. It affects every aspect of your life every single day of your life. I understand people who do not wish to be labelled - DS has a friend who has Asperger's and we've never told DS because his pal just wants to be treated normally and so his mum asked us not to. And the amazing thing is DS just accepts him as he is and they have a wonderful friendship.

IMHO if LM was autistic he wouldn't be talking of "a little bit autistic" coz that's the language you use when you don't really know anything about autism, like I did. And what are the chances that someone who is autistic and functioning at this level wouldn't know what autism is?

That tweet has been deleted now by Madigan. Probably for the best

And according to the profile, no longer 'schizo'. But still 'a bit autistic'. Jesus wept.

Should add my brother was diagnosed with all kinds of things throughout childhood that we now know are all parts of being autistic. He just never got retested after the medical profession in our neck of the woods had that as an official diagnosis.

Can I ask why is is harder to be diagnosed if a woman? Is that the case worldwide or is the UK lacking in providing the ability to diagnose equally?

Because diagnostic criteria and screening checklists were formulated before female presentation of autism was understood and so are skewed towards Male presentations of autism.

Because WAGs “mask” more and copy social behaviour more so are less likely to be spotted and referred and when they are referred, they are much older on average.

@autisticappropriation

It’s tough being gender critical on autistic Twitter. You are not alone. Most middle aged autistic woman I’ve spoken to about it, is gender critical. But I’m careful about who I raise it with.

It’s tough, and it’s so important that the female presentation of autism is recognised.

I dread the day that I’m asked my views on trans-issues outright. Lying hurts me. It denies my reality. I can’t do it, and will be torn to shreds. I don’t have the social energy to fight for the young autistic people who may end up sterilising themselves.

It never surprises me when it’s the self-diagnosed Autistics who have the energy to shout the loudest

I'm openly GC on Twitter. I've gained quite a few followers recently re autism and trans. And (probably thanks to terf blocker til he went kaput! ) no bad feedback from it either.

I was wary, but it's gone well. So far...

It is becoming increasingly clear that this chap has a lot of very complex mental health issues. Is he classed as employed by the Labour party? Any other employer with an employee acting like this would have a duty of care and should investigate and provide support.

Much as I find him completely abhorrent deep down I feel so very desperately sorry for him. The way he talks.......it's so clear he's an extremely troubled young man. I really pity him tbh.

I guess it's possible that he meets the criteria and is currently only self diagnosed? The waiting lists on the nhs are huge and it costs between £700-£1,500 plus to get a private assessment. However, I don't get why anyone would publicly announce being autistic without a professional telling you so. I'm still awaiting diagnosis and wouldn't ever tell people in real life that I strongly suspect that I'm autistic.

Well put, SpartacusAutisticus.

LM feels able to describe themselves as a woman and a lesbian so not sure why anyone would be surprised at the more recent additions.

I’m sure they’ll be something else next week.

I do agree though that they are a deeply troubled person who needs proper support and help.

Having gone through the diagnosis process several times now - I found the most helpful approach was when the Wechsler was used as an add on after the triad of impairment diagnosis. The idea is to find the strengths and not just the negatives.

An IQ score can't generally be given with autism as the profile is spikey - so this test was really helpful in finding out how to approach learning style.

Multi disciplinary diagnosis by developmental paediatrician and clinical psychologist using this to help school understand why someone in the top few % for reading could not retain verbal instructions as very low % in working memory but excellent long term memory.

Techniques can then be found and teachers made aware that child not being awkward etc. The spikey profile is diagnositically notable and confirms the neurological deficit. Really valued their approach and use of words 'differences' - language can be too negative around autism.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Intelligence_Scale_for_Children

Would recommend anyone going through diagnosis to look at this as it is such helpful information and focuses on wow look what you can do , but was hidden under there by wrong approach.

It is really a good tool to move on from the diagnosis - as every single person with autism is different . It uncovers best personal learning style and stops people beating themselves up about inconsistencies in concentration etc

I wonder how many of us who have gender critical views on Mumsnet are autistic? (Perhaps because we know what it's like to not "feel" womanly, and because we have trouble with definitions changing and lying to be socially kind?)

I hope in our brave new world the stats on women with autism aren't messed up by transwomen. I know it's selfish, but I want to see those stats rise because women are properly being diagnosed, not because autistic men are using the label of woman from now on.

Thank you @spartacusautisticus - you’ve pretty much answered all the questions being asked and answered them beautifully.

I have no desire to pick on a potentially vulnerable person but the issue it raises is a pertinent one.

I was misdiagnosed as schizophrenic for years and medicated as such before getting the correct diagnosis. This happened because nobody understood that women can present differently. I was told
“But you’re too intelligent” and “but you can talk” by psychiatrists and psychologists - I was told be a very eminent psychiatrist that as I was shit at maths and didn’t like to take things apart I couldn’t be autistic. It took me six years to persuade someone to let me speak to the diagnostic team. And diagnosis was only the start of the battle, being believed is really difficult, particularly with family. When someone applies the wrong label it can be extremely damaging not just to the person wearing it but also to the wider community who do have that condition. Perceptions of how that condition presents are then based on falsehoods - it’s why so many autistic women come from original diagnoses of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, because they don’t fit the stereotype.

There is no male brain to autism but there is engendered socialisation from birth and like every other human being I succumbed to that for a good while. As long as male presentation is considered as how autism appears then women are always going to struggle to be accepted as autistic.

I wonder how many of us who have gender critical views on Mumsnet are autistic? (Perhaps because we know what it's like to not "feel" womanly, and because we have trouble with definitions changing and lying to be socially kind?)

I suspect that there are a number of us who choose not to reveal it...

Not sure I understand, I don't have problem with gender - if girl wants to present as a man - cool.

They don't change biology though and actually become a man.

Very common amongst autistic people to feel fluid on this issue - then change when they get older - I know I did. In reality I just didn't really have much interest in either sex.

I would have hated to have been encouraged to sterilise myself in pursuit of fitting in. That's what is happening to autistic kids now - that don't yet have sexual feelings - told they must be 'wrong' instead of being allowed to just 'wait and see'.

(Perhaps because we know what it's like to not "feel" womanly, and because we have trouble with definitions changing and lying to be socially kind?)

This, in spades.

I agree with Jessica.

I thought autism was on a spectrum, including people who have some traits but not enough to meet the diagnostic threshold?

If you don't meet the threshold, you are not autistic. You may have "traits" but traits do not equate to being unable to function in several areas of life to the point that it impacts significantly on your life.

For example, I have to remove some tag from my clothes, my daughter cannot wear anything but cotton leggings and tshirts without transfers/prints/zips/buttons. One indicates sensory issues associated with autism, the other a dislike of something that is rough at times.

Most break times at school my daughter walks around by herself because with her toys because she can only do 1-1 play. Sometimes I like to be in the lunch room by myself. One indicates social difficulties associated with autism, the other a need to have some private time occasionally.

different
The very fact that there's a threshold means that some people will be just about on one side or the other. Thus one may officially be autistic whilst the other isn't, despite only a tiny difference in presentation.

They spent ages trying to work out which side of the arbitrary line I was on.... I don't have any obvious extreme sensory or communication issues.

Ps. I'm sorry your dd is having difficulties, heartbreaking reading that. x

I would bet a good amount of money that LM’s diagnosis is Narcissistic Personality Disorder or Borderline PD. That treatment sheet would fit with that. Schizophrenia...not so much.