Dr Sarah Warley

You can tell I didn't believe that.

But anyway, they've got to be the pleasers, the ones that sort of helped the social situation along.

And so they learn to mask.

And so women aren't picked up until a lot later.

And by then, they've probably just been left feeling, gosh, I think deep down I'm just pretty weird.

I'm just a little bit different.

And, you know, that loneliness gets confused with a complete lack of self-knowledge as well, you know, because you're not really being seen.

And you're going to be lonely if you're not seen.

And people with autism often forget this.

They think, oh, people that are autistic just don't like being social.

No, not true.

Not true.

And they can feel loneliness absolutely as much as anyone else as well.

It's just by virtue of being made to feel different.

I think that's 100% accurate.

And I think then it becomes almost an act of profound trust.

Do I dare show this other person

how I really am, the thoughts that are really going through my head and how I really feel.

And will they reject me the moment I do that?

And sometimes people, you know, they might have only one or two people in their lives that they feel they can really open up to.