I will answer any reasonable questions you have about living with Asperger's Syndrome. This is a form of high functioning autism that affects each person differently. I spent much of my life believing I was a freak of nature because I could never fit in and could never quite understand why people reacted so strongly to me no matter what I did or said. I did not understand why I could not speak when upset, why I had trouble functioning in crowded places, or why I looked at the world in a fundamentally different way than other people.

Since autism was generally thought to be "a boy's syndrome", many females have fallen through the cracks over the past ~75 years since it was introduced to the world as a set of related social and emotional issues known as autism . As a result, we are seeing a surge of autism diagnoses in adult women. I was not diagnosed until age 28, and only then because I pulled a stack of research and demanded if a neurobehaviorialist could tell me whether I had autism. After listening to my experiences, she confirmed that my self-diagnosis was accurate. Since then, I've been working to deprogram myself from the detrimental behaviors and thought processes I'd adapted as a form of self preservation. It's an uphill battle, but my quality of life has vastly improved since I learned to accept myself as I am.

I started posting about my struggles and experiences in a blog on my website www.janetanfei.com, which has allowed me to share my thoughts, concerns, and ideas with others. I have met many new people as a result of actually speaking honestly and openly about what it is like to live as a female with autism. I have also been contacted by many parents or caretakers who suspect their child has a form of autism.

This conversation may include but is not limited to:

~ Diagnosis of autism in females.
~ Life as an adult with high functioning autism.
~ Experiences in therapy.
~ Experiences in the workplace.
~ Conversation about your case of suspected autism.
~ Suggestions for how to talk to and deal with young and adolescent girls on the high functioning autism spectrum.
~ Direct conversation and suggestions for people who are struggling with social interactions.
~ Any topic on which you need to hear an unbiased but informed perspective.

We can talk via message, email, text, Skype, Slack, Hangouts, or FB Messenger. I am fine with text-only chats or video chats, even a mix of the two if we have multiple sessions. Start a conversation and we'll talk away!