Some autistic people may have a limited diet. This can result in withdrawal, distressed behaviour, or meltdowns. These sensory differences can affect how they feel and behave.ĭifficulty in processing information causes stress and anxiety.
Many autistic people struggle with over stimulation of their senses. Now I understand it - that is because it's over-sensory.” “I wanted everything really quite plain and basic and just white, and I don't like patterns on carpets. It affected the ways she and Paddy decorated their home. I tend to wear the same kind of style of clothes." I don't really like certain fabrics, things with seams, I don't like high neck things. She now uses her unique insight as an autistic mum to understand her children’s needs better as she shares a lot of traits with her children - including over-stimulation - that can be triggered by many things. I was extremely emotional, but relieved.” It's exhausting trying to juggle everything. I realised that basically what I'd been doing my whole life was acting. “To actually be told that I am autistic just made everything fall into place. These patterns matched Christine’s experiences perfectly and answered so many questions for her. “They put on this sort of persona, which means that their social difficulties underneath are less obvious and no one's really aware that they're struggling.” She says this sort of masking develops because girls are often more motivated to try and fit in. They’re known for their expertise in diagnosing women and girls. Sarah is a clinical director at the National Autistic Society and diagnostic specialist with the charity's Lorna Wing Centre for Autism. “Girls will often have more well-developed social skills and more likely to have friendships” says Dr Sarah Lister Brook. Masking is more common in women than men and can make it harder to spot autism traits. If I was with my husband, I wouldn't do that.” And I don't know why, it doesn't make any difference, but I feel better. And I instantly just go in and close the book. There's a hotel that I go to quite a lot, and it has a book on a table, and the books always open. “When I go to a hotel, I’ll rearrange the furniture - will move pictures off the wall, if I can.
It’s a way of ‘blending in’ when in fact they feel overstimulated or overwhelmed and anxious. Masking is a kind of coping mechanism neurodiverse people use to adapt to a neurotypical world. I have a million conversations going on in my head”īy appearing swan-like - Christine is doing something called ‘masking’. “I'll be questioning why am I in this room? Why am I with these people? Are they going to speak to me? Oh, God, please don't speak to me. You try and make conversation but inside, like the feet under the water, inside I feel like I'm constantly rattling. “You're really calm and you're smiling and you're floating around the room. She describes it as like being a swan on water. It turned out Christine had been displaying signs of autism for many years:Īs someone in the public eye, Christine is often seen at red carpets events appearing cool and calm in front of the camera.
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