However, she insisted she was proud of being autistic and disliked it when it was referred to as a disorder.
"It's important we allow ourselves to be authentically autistic," she added.
…
The 18-year-old, from Maidenhead in Berkshire, said she was considered "a misbehaving little girl" when she was in fact enduring "sensory overload".
…
"People were punishing me for lashing out, having tantrums - when actually I was having a sensory overload or felt down."
…
She said she suffered bullying at school and felt "unsupported" by mental health services.
The teenager said she believed this was because she was able to hide her condition, a trait the NHS acknowledges is more common in women and girls.
…
She said she had "conditioned" herself to act in the way society expects, citing the example of training herself to maintain eye contact during conversations with strangers.
Read the article: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-62565541
