The regular monthly ALAG and Autism Hub evening meeting was honored to have a special guest and timely topic. With International Woman’s Day on 8 March 2024, the event welcomed Carly Danesh-Jones MBE to talk on safeguarding autistic women and girls.

Carly began by talking about her own life experiences with autism. Carly presented a timeline of the risks of girls not receiving a diagnosis at pre-school age to early adulthood. Several themes were highlighted which contributed to difficult experiences for many autistic women; social imagination difficulties (imagining what might happen next), masking from an early age, and literal thinking in response to jargon.

The engaging commentary from the audience suggested the presentation resonated with many women. There were many new and familiar participants in the audience who talked of their experiences of masking, vulnerabilities and efforts to conceal emotional pain.

The second part of the presentation covered autistic teenage experiences, strategies for managing risk for autistic women and signposting. An example of a strategy for managing risk  was the importance of asking for the context of a question to help clarify jargon particularly when dating but also at work and in other settings.

Again, comments reflected the presentation with participants sharing difficult personal relationships and painful teenage experiences.

This event offered some excellent actions points including:

• The importance of group support particularly from other autistic people
• The need to advocate for yourself as well as others
• The use of various strategies and tips for autistic women like the asking for context.

Nick Stone, Autism Hub peer support facilitator & ALAG member, 06 March 2024