Skins star Megan Prescott reveals she has autism and admits that pretending to be neurotic made her ‘exhausted, anxious and depressed’
- Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people communicate and interact with the world
- More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 adults and children with autism in the UK.
Megan Prescott revealed that she is autistic.
The Skins star — who plays Katie Fitch on the series — took to Instagram on Sunday where she opened up about her experience in a long post.
The 31-year-old admitted that posing as neurotypical made her “exhausted, anxious and depressed”, as she called for more conversations about women with autism.
The actress also admitted that she has not yet told some of her family members about her autism, for fear that they will react “very upset.”
Megan insisted that autism is “not a superpower” but can be a “gift” if the world is more accessible to neurodiverse individuals.
Real talk: Megan Prescott, 31, revealed she has autism
Stressed: Meghan admitted feigning neurotype made her ‘stressed out, anxious and depressed’, as she calls for more conversations about women with autism
Megan penned it: “In December 2021 I was diagnosed with autism. Since then I’ve slowly gotten comfortable explaining this to people I know, but I was nervous to say anything here because of the misunderstanding of autism in women by most people.
There are still members of my family whom I haven’t told about my diagnosis because I know the response will be very upsetting.
When I was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, I told people they didn’t feel so nerve wracked as telling everyone I was autistic and I believe that although ADHD is misunderstood by women, at least we’re starting to be a person. fit. The amount of resources available for people to learn more about it. The same cannot be said about autism in women
When I’ve told people I’m autistic, the response I most often get has been something along the lines of, “Well, everyone’s a little bit on the spectrum” — which, while well-meaning, is pretty much a response to someone telling you they’re autistic.
First, this response sounds like you’re trying to console the autistic person by saying “don’t feel bad, we’re all like that” implying that not only is autism bad, but it also completely negates the struggles that an autistic person may have had throughout their life.
Megan explained how some people downplay her diagnosis as if it’s “no big deal because it’s something that everyone experiences and you’re not very good at dealing with it.”
She continued, “Autism is also not a ‘superpower. ‘ We live in a society that was built from the ground up for people with neurotic brains.”
I believe that autism can be a “gift” if the world we live in is more accessible to neurodiverse people.
The opening: The Skins star — who played Katie Fitch on the series — took to Instagram on Sunday where she opened up about her experience in a lengthy post.
However, nearly all of the social structures, systems, and rules we live by were created by and for neurotypical people and do not allow for vast differences in how diverse brains function.
The actress wished there would be “more conversations about autism in women” while explaining that most of the “diagnostic criteria involved in evaluating autism are based on research conducted exclusively on men.”
Meghan concluded: “In my true style, I will of course talk about this a lot; partly because I am incredibly involved myself, but also because of the lack of information and support available for women with autism and I would at least add my two cents.
