04:05
ISSUE 4
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Battle of Late Diagnosed Neurodivergent Women
By Victoria Thatcher
As more women are diagnosed with Autism in their 30s, 40s, and beyond, why have medical professionals overlooked them for so long and how can your vulnerability give others strength?
The Why In Issue 2 of 04:05 , I wrote about neurodiversity: What it means, how it can benefit organisations and why we must work together to remove the stigma for neurodiverse individuals in the workplace. I didn’t talk about why this matters so much to me, a story that started nearly 40 years ago. I was always different. I fit in at school, I had plenty of friends, but I knew I was different. In fact, I fit in with every single social group there was at school: the emos, the cool girls everyone wanted to be friends with, the nerdy smart ones no one wanted to be friends with. Academically I did really well too. My school reports were littered with comments like “ Victoria can do better if she talks less and concentrates more” , “always being the class clown and
fidgeting” , and “very bright but needs to focus” . There were criticisms about how I wouldn’t sit and read in a lesson, how I struggled to write an essay but if I was up at the blackboard helping the teacher and getting involved then I was completely engaged. How I’d often go really quiet and inward. I vividly remember the exhaustion I’d feel after school. Grumpy and wiped out I’d run to my room, slamming the door relieved to be shutting the world out. Then I’d head out on my bike and cycle until my little legs couldn’t cycle any more. Out in nature by myself was my happy space. Payroll was a Lifeline This carried on well into my 20s and 30s. I had a good career and an active social life but what my friends
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online