Neurodivergent Women: HSPs and Autism

There has been a lot of conversation around the similarities and differences between HSPs highest on the sensitivity scale and autism. I've often felt like there is an undiscovered gap between the two that many of us may fall into.  Those of us highest on the sensitivity scale have the same challenges around sensory sensitivities and sensory overload as someone on the spectrum of autism. However, if you look at the current diagnostic criteria found in the DSM, there seem to be broad differences in other areas. 

But, researching this further is complicated because diagnostic criteria for autism have been developed using white boys and men, failing to serve neurodivergent girls, women, nonbinary, and BIPOC. Additionally, many women are known to do masking or camouflaging, which is "the process of changing or concealing one’s natural personality to “fit in,” or perhaps more specifically to be perceived as neurotypical." Interestingly enough, many of us as HSPs have been taught to hide parts of who we are to fit in too. 

Recently I attended the Standford University Neurodiversity Summit and met a professor who has developed the first college course on understanding neurodivergent women. After discovering she was on the autism spectrum as an adult, she shifted her work towards helping autistic women better understand themselves while challenging the medical community to create more inclusive and accurate autism diagnostic criteria for girls and women. 

I've been in conversation with her after connecting at Stanford's Neurodiversity Summit.  She told me that there is much debate in the autism community about whether being an HSP is a form of level 1 autism/Asperger’s Syndrome. She talked about how there are no new or separate criteria for diagnosing autism in females right now, which is a problem she's trying to change. She goes on to say that this is controversial because some of the autism community believe that separating autism into subtypes is divisive. But she shared concerns that many women are undiagnosed due to the dissolution of the subtypes in the DSM, such as Aspergers. She wants to create a completely different subtype of autism and call it “Rara Avis Syndrome,” which means Rare Bird or a rare or exceptional human. Because that’s how she views autistic women. 

We certainly have a long way to go to get accurate diagnostic tools for females, but I wanted to bring this to your attention and begin some discussion around it. 

You might find this article interesting from Scientific American; We Need Better Diagnostic Tests for Autism in Women.  Additionally, you may enjoy listening to this podcast episode, The Vital Importance of Diagnosis of Autism in Girls and Women. 

Something that I found interesting in our discussions is how impacted we are as neurodivergent people through being misunderstood and that accommodations are needed to help us reach our potential by reducing some of the challenges of living in a world not set up for us.  Expecting everyone to have the same set of needs or that everyone should be neurotypical is harming us and the world. We are missing out on the gifts of seeing the world through a different lens and brain differences. 

Some companies are starting to recognize the value of hiring neurodivergent people and making changes to accommodate their needs in job interviews, for example. There are so many gifts inside people who are not neurotypical. I'm happy to see Stanford address different factors that support our different sets of needs in the workplace, at schools, medically, in mental health, in relationships, at home, etc. 

Why is this discussion important?  If we've received the message that something is wrong with how we are, it impacts everything about our experience in the world and leaves us more likely to experience anxiety and depression too. I've always said that our gifts are buried under our challenges, so if we can move society toward acknowledging and understanding the gifts of being neurodivergent, everyone benefits.  

Plus, removing the stigma that something is wrong with us for being "different" is also life-changing, as many of us have experienced coming into this community and normalizing our experiences. 

Diagnosis can be good because it can offer accommodations and, for many, a sense of relief and an explanation as to why one may experience the world the way they do. However, it can also be dangerous when the diagnostic criteria might not be accurate.  This is a great example of how important it is to look at many variables in diagnostics, including gender and diversity and the experience of the person doing the diagnosis. The professor talked about how difficult it was to get diagnosed and to find someone aware of the vast differences between the female autistic prototype. 

So much to say about all of this, and as I research this further, I'll bring in more. In any case, it's important that we acknowledge the needs and recognize the valuable gifts of neurodivergent people, including HSPs!

Join me in our Sensitive Empowerment Community for more conversation on this topic in a private, safe, professionally moderated space.  ❤️

Julie Bjelland, LMFT, is a psychotherapist specializing in high sensitivity, author of The Empowered Highly Sensitive Person, and host of The HSP Podcast. Her Sensitive Empowerment Community, online courses, blog, and free webinars have helped thousands of highly sensitive people (HSPs) worldwide reduce their challenges, access their gifts, and discover their significant value. Julie loves connecting in her community and warmly invites you to join this positive, safe, inclusive, and welcoming space. Take her free sensitivity quiz, get a letter to give to your medical and mental health team, learn how her brain training program reduces anxiety quickly, and find all her resources JulieBjelland.com❤️🌈❤️ (she/her)