Autistic Irish Woman Blog

Have you ever felt like the odd one out in school or work? Like you’re a fish out of water at family functions? Or even feel like a tourist that got lost in a foreign city and no one speaks your language? Well, imagine that feeling and multiply it by 365 days and that is how I always feel!

You are probably thinking “you’re exaggerating! What possible reason do you have to say that?” It’s a long story to explain in one post, so I’ll start with the short version. I am a woman that lives in Dublin, Ireland and I’m also (cue drumroll) … Autistic! Yep, I’m a proud Autistic Irish woman.

You probably have some questions, so I’ll answer the most likely ones that might pop-up.

• Yes, I got an official diagnosis.
• I knew I was Autistic since I was 2 and a half years old.
• It is completely genetic as some of my relatives are also Autistic, no stereotypes of “painkillers caused it” or anything like that.
• And yes, I am a cisgender woman that was diagnosed with autism.

I am proud to be Autistic but the journey to being who I am now was difficult. When I was a kid there wasn’t a lot known about autism, especially for girls. I had a tough time growing up because of stereotypes surrounding ‘autism’ and being a girl too. There were times I was called “too emotional” or “very dramatic” when I had a sensory overload. How my voice was met with indifference when I try to explain how I feel, while my male relatives going through the same thing get the supports they need. When I did group projects in school, I was pushed to do grunt work because the group thought “she doesn’t have the mental capacity to handle important stuff”.

As you can imagine these experiences impacted my mental health overtime. It took me a long time to get pass this mindset, now I’m 29 years old and here to say my piece. I’m telling my story to show all those people that thought that way about me were wrong! I am proud to be Autistic, which is only a part of who I am as a person. I am creative, nice, honest and a bit funny. I love fun facts, videogames, stories and more. I also have a Diploma, Bachelors AND Masters Degree in design (take that people from school that doubted me!)

I had spent so long hiding who I was, minimising a part of myself for others. Even when I showed a small part of my autism, like my interests or my stimming, I got mocked by people I once thought were precious loved ones. I learned that becoming the person I want to be means that I have to have courage to pursue my goals and let go of people that would only hurt me.

Now I’m writing this blog for those like me that are either going through this kind of difficult time, or just starting to pass the sea of negative voices that defines what people think you should be. I will admit this is my first blog, so I might make some mistakes, but I will do my best to share my story to help other girls like me. Join me on my journey to be the me I want to be and show people what this woman can do!