In 2023, I started a project to spread awareness on how Autism feels for biological feminine people. This is a part of the autism community that I feel isn’t represented enough. As an autistic woman, I have illustrated how my autism affects me personally and have interviewed other autistic women in order to illustrate their experiences too. This was a very brief project, that I wish to add to in future.
All characters drawn in this project are unclothed to illustrate the vulnerability associated with sharing these experiences and they are wearing socks as this is something I personally need socks on to regulate my sensory experience.
I would like to note, not all autistic people are the same so these experiences may not be universal to all autistic people.
Autism and “Shutdown”
Shut down is a scary experience that many autistic people go through when they are overwhelmed for extended periods of time.
For me, this feels as if I am outside of my body, unable to control myself, I cry and shout, trying to gain back control yet I cannot move.
Autism and “Info Dumping”
A significant thing neurotypical people mention about autistic people is that they talk a lot about their interests with a perceived disregard for others.
Our interests sooth us in stressful situations and by telling others about it, many autistic people perceive this as sharing that soothing, or happiness that we feel by learning about the subject. As depicted in this drawing, this often feels as if we are gifting our happiness to those around us.
Autism and Sadness
Autistic people may feel emotions more dramatically than others, sometimes even feeling it physically.
Sadness can feel physically painful. As depicted here, for me this is an empty feeling in my stomach and pain in my joints and chest.
This feeling can make autistic people feel helpless as this pain feels never-ending.