PostHole
Compose
Login
Broad spectrum
Autism is a lifelong condition, often seen as particularly ‘male’. Yet a growing number of women, and those assigned female at birth, are being diagnosed as autistic in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond. Writer and performer Helen Keen is one of them, and she’s found this diagnosis has helped her make sense of many aspects of her life, from growing up with selective mutism, to struggling to fit in as a young adult. In this programme Helen asks why she, like a growing number of others, had to wait till she was well into adulthood before finding her place on the autistic spectrum. She discovers that for many years psychologists believed that autism was rarely seen in women and non-binary people. Now it is accepted that people often display autistic traits in different way - for example, they may learn to ‘camouflage’ and behave in a neurotypical way - but at what cost? Helen talks to others like her who have had late diagnoses, and finds out if knowing they are on the autistic spectrum has given them insight into how they can navigate the pressures on them from contemporary society. She also explores how we can value and celebrate neurodiversity.
Helen also talks to psychologists Professor Francesca Happé, of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience in London, and Dr Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University about their research into autism.
Picture: Geometric camouflage pattern, Credit: Yuri Parmenov/Getty Images
Accessibility links
BBC World Service
Discovery
- Discovery Home
- Episodes
- Galleries
- Podcast
- Join us on Facebook
Main content
Listen now
Broad spectrum
Discovery
Helen Keen talks to people like her who have had late diagnoses of autism, and finds out if knowing they are on the spectrum gives them insight into their lives and relationships.
Autism is a lifelong condition, often seen as particularly ‘male’. Yet a growing number of women, and those assigned female at birth, are being diagnosed as autistic in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond. Writer and performer Helen Keen is one of them, and she’s found this diagnosis has helped her make sense of many aspects of her life, from growing up with selective mutism, to struggling to fit in as a young adult. In this programme Helen asks why she, like a growing number of others, had to wait till she was well into adulthood before finding her place on the autistic spectrum. She discovers that for many years psychologists believed that autism was rarely seen in women and non-binary people. Now it is accepted that people often display autistic traits in different way - for example, they may learn to ‘camouflage’ and behave in a neurotypical way - but at what cost? Helen talks to others like her who have had late diagnoses, and finds out if knowing they are on the autistic spectrum has given them insight into how they can navigate the pressures on them from contemporary society. She also explores how we can value and celebrate neurodiversity.
Helen also talks to psychologists Professor Francesca Happé, of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience in London, and Dr Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University about their research into autism.
Picture: Geometric camouflage pattern, Credit: Yuri Parmenov/Getty Images
###
####
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now
27 minutes
Last on
Mon 23 Nov 2020
00:32GMT
BBC World Service
More episodes
Previous
Next
See all episodes from Discovery
Clip
Autism: The consequences of being diagnosed later in life
Duration: 04:00
Broadcasts
Mon 16 Nov 2020
20:32GMT
BBC World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East, News Internet & UK DAB/Freeview only
Mon 16 Nov 2020
21:32GMT
BBC World Service Australasia, East Asia & South Asia only
Tue 17 Nov 2020
04:32GMT
BBC World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
Space
The eclipses, spacecraft and astronauts changing our view of the Universe
The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry
[The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry]
A pair of scientific sleuths answer your perplexing questions. Ask them anything!
Podcast
Discovery
Explorations in the world of science.
Related Links
Helen Keen (www.helenkeen.com)
Eloise Stark (eloisestark.org)
Francesca Happé (www.kcl.ac.uk)
Steven Stagg (aru.ac.uk)
Catina Burkett (www.spectrumnews.org)
Kana Umagami (brainsenpointe.wixsite.com)
Similar programmes
By genre:
- Factual > Science & Nature
By format:
Magazines & Reviews
[BBC World Service homepage]
News in more than 40 languages