Supporting autistic women and girls.
What We Do
We are here to let the world know that for women and girls (mainly) autism can present differently to the traditional male stereotype that most people are familiar with.
Women and girls deserve a better deal from a system that is currently focused on the traditional male presentation of autism.
Auti-Ms is a registered charity providing support to Autistic women and girls and their families. We are currently the only charity in England and Wales which has this focus.
Auti-Ms was founded in 2019 by Sophie McInnes after she spent many years being treated for a range of mental health issues and a life threatening eating disorder before finally being diagnosed as autistic. Her mission was to create a charity which would work to raise awareness of how autism can present differently – usually in women and girls, and to educate the professionals who had misdiagnosed both herself and many others.
No easy diagnosis
We’ve all learned that getting a diagnosis for Autism is not easy. For a long time the medical profession thought that autism mostly affected men and boys. Recent research shows that women and girls, too, can have autism, and that it often presents in different ways. Autistic traits have a strong gender split.
Unfortunately the standard diagnostic tests haven’t yet caught up. They’re still heavily focused on the autistic traits that boys present. That’s why so many girls and young women fail to obtain a diagnosis. If they don’t tick the boxes, they can’t be autistic. Practitioners instead find other explanations for their behaviours and personality. This cycle of misdiagnosis can go on for years.
At Auti-Ms we have all experienced a period of undiagnosed autism, so we know what it’s like – the mental-health issues… the feeling of being different… the social isolation.
We are here to put that right.
We help by…
- Holding a monthly online support online support group open anyone who feels they may be autistic/ who has a diagnosis/ at the start/in the process of their diagnostic journey who are needing help or advice or wanting to connect with others. We are all qualified Mental Health First Aiders accredited buy Mental Health England.
- Hosting a bimonthly face to face social groups in Bristol for support group users.
- We also have visiting speakers from related agencies
- Hosting social skills groups for pre-teens and teens in conjunction with the Social Skills Agency, where social skills are taught in a fun and friendly way
- Hosting activity based social groups for young people- cookery, dancing and sewing etc.
- Providing bespoke training to schools, teachers, head teachers on how to identify and support autistic girls
- Providing training for employers about the needs of autistic workers and what reasonable adjustments could be made
- Speaking at conferences for professionals involved in the diagnosis of autism- SALT, Educational Psychologists, Paediatricians, GPS
- Signposting users to other agencies who may be able to offer further support and advice.
We are members of self-advocacy groups/ forums which aim to raise awareness of the “ autistic voice”. Through this work we hope to contribute towards developing an inclusive society that values, respects and includes people with disabilities.
