introvertistic

[introvertistic]

"It took me three years following my diagnosis to tell anyone beyond my immediate family. ... the dichotomy of being both authentic and visible, and striving to be invisible, remains. Fifty-five years (and counting) of trying to perfect the 'normal' persona is difficult to drop, although increasingly - with grateful thanks to menopause, recurring autistic burnout and ageing - my need and energy to maintain the pretence are just about gone."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Introduction. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 19-25). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"My outward presentation is extremely well constructed. My lifelong special interest in studying people has both served me well but hidden the truth: that I am struggling and exhausted most of the time."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Introduction. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 19-25). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"My fascination is people and how they operate - most typically articulated by a frown and 'Why do they do that?', although I don't know why I persist in asking Keith as he has less of a clue than I do. I realized that I have always struggled enormously socially yet have persisted in adopting an utterly exhausting, extroverted persona to socialize anyway at great mental cost to myself because I am supposed to..."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Introduction. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 19-25). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"... I was so convinced of my somewhat neurotypical (NT) status that Keith and I wrote a book about our Asperger syndrome (AS)/ NT relationship (Hendrickx and Newton, 2007) and the differences between our neurology, and how clever I was at being able to understand his despite not sharing it."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Introduction. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 19-25). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"I am one of those autistic women who has hidden it extremely well, to the point that I couldn't even see it myself. ...a subconscious response to a lifelong understanding that the 'real me' was not usually particularly welcome or approved of. ...constant rehearsal, monitoring, observation, mimicry and a whole host of other exhausting strategic measures."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Introduction. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 19-25). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"...there are plenty of autistic women, but we just hide it better (but often at great cost). We make sense of it differently or present it in a way that slips under the radar of those looking for classic (male) indicators derived from the (almost) exclusively male research..."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Introduction. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 19-25). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"... the consensus has been that there are substantially more males with the condition than there are females. I frequently discussed this with people attending the training courses that I delivered, and the overwhelming opinion was that there are more autistic males than females and 'that's just the way it is'. The professionals attending these courses held this belief because they stated they had more male autistic clients/ pupils/ patients... therefore it must be true. Others expressed surprise that women could be autistic at all..."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Introduction. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 19-25). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"...the demographic of those who have sought autism assessment has entirely changed. Initially, the people who came were all male, often 'encouraged' by a female partner who had deemed their behaviour as possibly autistic, and then a trickle of females began to come along. As time has gone by, my clients are around 99 per cent female. What changed? Awareness, that's what."

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Preface. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 15-17). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"I wish this was the only occasion where I have had to justify my diagnosis because I don't look autistic enough, but it isn't, and it won't be. And I am not alone in this. If the gatekeepers of diagnosis and subsequent support are unaware, individuals and families will be powerless to get what they need. The injustice of this makes me unbelievably angry." Sarah Hendrickx

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Preface. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 15-17). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"The psychiatrist questioned my diagnosis, asking who had diagnosed me. He asked how I could be autistic because I didn't look like I was autistic, and I was having a two-way conversation with him. I replied that maybe it's because I'm an adult and a woman. He looked at me incredulously and, with obvious contempt, said: 'Are you trying to tell me that being a woman makes a difference?' ... I knew there was nothing else I could say. I shut up and hoped that we could just continue with what we had come for. I waited until we had left the room before I cried and exploded with frustration." Sarah Hendrickx

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Preface. Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 15-17). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"...there is a very informative chapter on eating which is written by Jess Hendrickx, Sarah's daughter. Jess is autistic and therefore has discussed eating difficulties from an autistic perspective. ...She emphasizes how much sensory input influences eating difficulties - not just the food. The eating itself is influenced by routines, structures, textures, brands, etc. ..." Dr. Judith Gould Consultant Clinical Psychologist The Lorna Wing Centre for Autism

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Foreword. Dr. Judith Gould, Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 9-12). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"Despite the improvements in diagnosis there are still concerns regarding the use of certain diagnostic tools. Clinicians continue to be rigid in their interpretation of behaviours and depend too heavily on the International Diagnostic Criteria instead of using their clinical judgement and observing the person in different environments." Dr. Judith Gould Consultant Clinical Psychologist The Lorna Wing Centre for Autism

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Foreword. Dr. Judith Gould, Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 9-12). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

"Diagnosis has improved but still remains a challenge for those women who are adept at camouflaging and masking. It is not the case that we need a new set of diagnostic criteria... rather it is to understand how females interact with others and how they hide their true selves." Dr. Judith Gould Consultant Clinical Psychologist The Lorna Wing Centre for Autism

Hendrickx, S. (2024). Foreword. Dr. Judith Gould, Women and girls on the autism spectrum: Understanding life experiences from early childhood to old age (pp. 9-12). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-069-2

[introvertistic]

Images in order: Real name, typical username on all other platforms, current tumblr username. I'm kind of meh about these ones lol. The one for my real name is very accurate to the colors I wear, so there's that, but there's no purple anywhere! My favorite color, excluded. For shame.

@lofi-indica and @anawkwardartistandgamer - You two should do this too. <3

color scheme of your tumblr user/your name; here!

thanks for the tag, @cupofjoel!

I'm particularly pleased with my blog color scheme bc those are basically the colors I gravitate toward for clothing choices and aesthetics 😂

(also I redacted my real name for privacy reasons but I am not even remotely surprised it's got earthy undertones lol)

no pressure tags: @astronomer-star @twilightown @ofkingsandlionhearts and anyone else who would like to play along!

[introvertistic]

"Chronic tic disorders have shared genetic variance with OCD, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder. In addition, individuals with tic disorders are at increased risk to develop an autoimmune disorder (e.g., Hashimoto’s thyroiditis). It is increasingly evident that the immune system and neuroinflammation play important roles in the pathobiology of tics in at least a subset of affected individuals (e.g., those with Sydenham’s chorea)."

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Neurodevelopmental disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).

[introvertistic]

"The vulnerability toward developing co-occurring conditions changes as individuals pass through the age of risk for various co-occurring conditions. For example, prepubertal children with tic disorders are more likely to exhibit co-occurring attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and separation anxiety disorder. Teenagers and adults are more vulnerable to developing mood and anxiety disorders as well as substance use disorders."

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Neurodevelopmental disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).

[introvertistic]

"Tic disorders typically begin in the prepubertal period, with an average age at onset between 4 and 6 years, and with the incidence of first-onset tic disorders decreasing in the later teen years. First onset of tics in adulthood is exceedingly rare and is often associated with exposures to illicit substances (e.g., excessive cocaine use), is the result of a central nervous system insult, or is related to a functional neurological disorder."

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Neurodevelopmental disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).