Autistic and authentic
The JiM Foundation's social campaign "Women's Spectrum. We want to be authentic!" addresses the specificity of women's autism, and pays special attention to the problem of their underdiagnosis and the consequences related to it. The initiative involved adult Polish women on the autism spectrum: Ida Tymina, Klaudia Lewandowska and Dorota Bartosiak.
In the campaign, 3 autistic female protagonists talked about their lives from the perspective of women on the autism spectrum and how much the diagnosis has changed their lives. They are the ones who show the same autistic traits as men, but already their expressions may be different from those accepted in the classic diagnostic criteria[1]. Feeling more social pressure, due to their upbringing, they try to fit into the situation they happen to be in. They often have the feeling of being 'defective', 'different', 'strange'. It is only because of the psychological strain that they begin to look for solutions, and learn that their needs stem from an undiagnosed autism spectrum. You can get to know the stories of Ida Tymina, Klaudia Lewandowska and Dorota Bartosiak by watching the videos recorded with them:
In Poland, there are still thousands of girls and women on the autism spectrum living without a diagnosis. According to the NFZ[2], in 2021, only 18,746 girls and women in Poland received an autism diagnosis (including only 303 after the age of 35), while there were nearly 68,000 boys and men. The disparity in diagnosis is shown in the JiM Foundation's report "Autism for women in Poland". It shows that girls/women are entitled to the same support as boys/men. This is why the campaign has created an appeal through which support can be expressed for equal access to diagnosis for girls and women on the autism spectrum. It is also the beginning of a public discussion to introduce systemic solutions to change the Polish legal reality and reform the system of Polish politics and public care dealing with autism. You can show your support for the initiative by leaving your vote under the appeal at www.autentyczni.org.
JiM Foundation
The mission of the JiM Foundation is to create a better world for autistic people. A world where every autistic person can realise their potential. Why is this important? According to the latest research, autism is already diagnosed in up to 1 in 50 children today, which means that there are at least 400 000 autistic people in Poland. The spectrum, however, does not apply only to this specific number of people, but also to their parents, siblings or carers, and this already creates a community of several million Poles.
[1] L. Hull et al: Behavioural and cognitive sex/gender differences in autism spectrum condition and typically developing males and females. Autism, 21(6), 706-727 (2017).
[2] The data does not include the number of people who were diagnosed privately.