Dear Outlaw: Thanks so much for writing this. A year after my dx of AuDHD I still have my doubts...possibly because autism has been so misrepresented or because I was tagged gifted or because ADHD seems like a better/kinder label, and so forth. The thing that nails the proverbial door shut on the mystery of my autistic self--who sorta kinda thought HSP was a good explanation but also thought it was fluffy BS that minimized all the pain--are the social problems. For me, it's been workplaces. I wrote an article just yesterday called The Working Girl with Autism in which I took a dark trip down memory lane. I was left out so often, how could I get ahead? How can you feel safe, much less get a promotion, when people don't like you? I dismissed the many painful experiences because I had no way to contextualize why I was marginalized. I could never make sense of WHY they didn't like me but now, finally, I have a coherent answer! Thanks again for your ongoing work to clarify what autism really is, especially in women.
