Saturday, January 2, 2021

Girls on the spectrum who can emulate social skills, may be missed or diagnosed with other mood disorders


When working with folks on the spectrum, one may notice a group of girls/women who has great abilities to emulate “social skills” in order to adapt to society’s social expectation. The only problem is, it can be exhausting for them. If they have their way, they would rather speak their mind, have less “small talk”, live life true to who they are, and have society acknowledges the usefulness of how they think.

Being able to adapt can be a double edge sword for them. Being able to adapt can be great, and at the same time, one has “to keep it up”. Keeping this up to “make society happy”, and unable to live a life true to oneself, can be exhausting, and may breed some level of resentment. It may even cause adjustment disorders with anxious or depressed mood, and other psychosocial issues.

So next time, if you do see depression, anxiety, or adjustment disorders with anxious and depressed mood in women and teenage girls, please consider the above as part of your differentials. They can often be missed.

They will need your understanding, acknowledgement, and support, to navigate on how to live a life true to who they are, and at the same time, adapt to their environment as well from a practical point of view. It’s certainly not easy, but it’s “workable”.

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