NeuroSpark Health

This is one of the most common questions we hear. When we're assessing adults for autism, ADHD, or AuDHD, we're not focused on your external presentation as much as your lived experience.

You are the expert of your own experiences. Our clinicians strive to understand your story through a supportive, collaborative, and affirming conversation. Our role is to help uncover your experiences underneath all that masking, together.
The part people feel most nervous about is our virtual process. Every assessment is unique, but common topics discussed include things like your interests and passions, your strengths and ways of thinking, your current life, masking and coping strategies, and more.

If you've been thinking of getting assessed, schedule your free 15-minute consultation with our neurodivergent team so we can tell you all about the process and answer any questions you have.

This helps us understand your current concerns, assessment goals, which assessment may be the best option (autism, ADHD, or AuDHD) and whether we're the right fit for you.

→ Book your consult at the link in bio or reply "BOOK" to be sent the link

When you're a high-masking adult, the fear of being seen can feel overwhelming. That hyperawareness is more than just social anxiety. It's a survival mechanism to protect yourself from judgment, misunderstanding, or rejection.

Be kind to your nervous system. There is no "right" way to think, feel, or behave. Your differences are not flaws.

Find safe spaces. Look for communities and relationships where you can practice unmasking without judgment.

Set boundaries. Distance yourself from environments or people that force you to perform.

Advocate for your needs. Speaking up reduces the pressure to conform.

Unmasking takes time and can feel risky, but learning to exist as yourself is how you protect your peace and build self-confidence.

Let's talk about autism in women and people socialized as girls. Honestly? It's so frustrating.

One of the reasons we're so frequently misdiagnosed, or missed entirely, is that being quiet, compliant, empathetic, and detail-oriented, all things that are common in autistic people, get praised when you're deemed a girl. And they keep getting praised as you're socialized into being a woman.

It's so conditioned in girls to be quiet and to suppress their discomfort that you learn to internalize any autistic trait that isn't seen as desirable. So those traits, which are real neurological differences, end up getting read as personal failures. Or being dramatic. Or being too needy. Or whatever other negative stereotype gets attached.

A young girl can show the same trait a young boy is showing. But because she's being socialized as female, she might get diagnosed with anxiety, depression, or borderline personality disorder when she's older, while the boy gets clocked much younger.

A lot of the research on autism is still done on young white boys. More is coming out now with more diverse demographics, but it's still pretty skewed.

Autism is about how your brain processes information, how that's experienced in your nervous system, and how disabled you are by the experience of existing with the way your brain and nervous system work.

If you were one of the ones who got missed, you're not the only one. 💜