'We Owe, You Know, the World Our Perfection': How the Neurodiversity Paradigm Informs Autistic Women's Self-Perceptions

This qualitative, phenomenological study examines how autistic women characterize and interpret their experiences, beliefs, and self-perceptions within the framework of the neurodiversity paradigm. Guided by a social constructivist epistemology, this study explores the complex intersections between autistic women’s experiences of diagnostic processes, gendered socialization, and identity formation in autistic women. Through semi-structured interviews with ten autistic women, themes emerged around gender differences between autistic men and women, external versus internal self-perception, diagnostic age and self-perception, sensory overload and its consequences, and the journey from feeling othered to finding one’s place socially. Findings suggest that delayed diagnosis and persistent societal pressures to conform to normative feminine roles significantly distorted self-perception and hinder authentic self-concept development. However, exposure to neurodiversity-affirming discourses—including stimming destigmatization, the use of identity-first language, and the reconceptualization of autism as a strength—has the potential to radically reshape autistic women’s internal narratives. Participants who engaged with neurodiversity frameworks described increased self-compassion, existential clarity, and a reclaimed sense of personal empowerment. This study addresses critical gaps in the literature by amplifying underrepresented voices and synthesizing three previously siloed domains: autistic self-perception, neurodiversity orientation, and women’s gendered experiences of autism. Ultimately, these findings highlight a need for more aware diagnostic practices, increased autistic representation in practitioner roles, and the widespread adoption of neurodiversity-affirming frameworks to support the flourishing of autistic women.