The Invisible Spectrum
Most Autistics in the world today are adults, undiagnosed, and without intellectual or language impairment. In fact, 80% of those born female remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed by the time they reach 18 years of age —as do many other internalised presentations including males, trans & non-binary folx, people of colour, those living in stigmatising cultural or religious communities, LGBTQIA+ peeps, and those without means and access to systemic gatekeeping services.
Everyone’s heard of Autism but few really understand what it means when looking at the whole person. It doesn’t help that Western Medicine operates largely in silos, where clinicians from different departments aren’t talking to one another or picking up on neurodivergent health and support needs. It’s more complex than realised. Where neurodivergents see complexity, allistics, or non-Autistics, [cue stab music] see complication.
Being ‘othered’ by a medical model that views Autistics solely through a lens of deficit or distress, and often misunderstood – is problematic; Autistics hold formidable values that are worthy of consideration and respect. Try going without music, cable app subscriptions, and tech programming, for a start, let alone academia, research, music, science, and all the good things. They often hold dimensional aspects that neurotypicals don’t have an access to (can’t see/translate) but that doesn’t mean it diminishes the value that Autistic people bring. I like being Autistic. Is it easy? – Not always. Yet my best attributes are because I am. I am a fierce advocate for Autistics taking care of their own. When we know better, we can do better.
Autistic people present very differently from one another—much like the diversity found among mammals (bats, whales, dogs, cats). However, they tend to share tendencies toward under- and over-arousal, particularly internalised presentations with sensory sensitivities who tend to ‘blow out’ the more dysregulated they become. As humans, ‘bottom-up’ processing (what we feel) accounts for around 90% whereas mental or ‘top-down’ approaches have access to 10% of our processing. Said differently, consciousness is around 10% and non-conscious around 90%. Neurofeedback works primarily on this 90% and there is no thinking to do other than settling yourself. Reconciling the 90/10 ratio is vital to balance – that goes for anyone with a brain and nervous system. This is often the catalyst for neurotype exploration to help identify, explain and understand why we perceive, think, and behave differently.
If we view Autism as an umbrella term, the co-occurring conditions may help explain gut-brain axis issues,, migraines, hormonal disruptions (PMDD, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis), sleep disordered breathing, tethered oral ties, hypermobility, and motor challenges, stemming from metabolic functions. Autism is more than simply ‘thinking differently.’ The MindBody is one; each side affects the other. The mind is a servant, not the master.
How an Autistic presentation maps onto their experience of the World is deeply personal, as every brain is as unique as a fingerprint. And it’s not something you can simply think, or talk your way out of – it doesn’t work like that. Internal stability and flexibility offers more. I’m more of a guide like Glinda, alongside Dorothy, tapping feminine traits by asking lots of questions, digging deeper, to know… and I can help reveal this intrinsic knowing that hasn’t always been previously known or spoken about. I can’t do the work for you; I’m not a priest and this is not a confessional. I won’t claim the ease of three heel-taps, but yes, the potential for having the power all along can come forth now.
