very interesting read. As someone with an autism diagnosis (late diagnosed), it was interesting for me to see the ways I have masked in the past and how I currently use masking to function at work and those settings. It was also eye-opening to me that people who may not appear to be autistic in all parts of their life at all might be, and might save the unmasking until they get home. For myself, I can mask at work or in public but I have a "time limit" and cannot remain masking all my traits when I am at home. This book seems important in documenting the experiences of women, girls, and GNC and trans people with autism. Lots of autistic people joke about "boy autism" and "girl autism" and this author examines the societal factors in this- and how the way we view young girls and enforce and police gender impacts what is seen as "different" or needing help in school. A young autistic person obsessed with reading romance novels to the extent that she cannot eat or sleep otherwise might not be detected- despite the level of engagement with interests and sensory issues, since girls are rewarded if they are quiet, shy, and isolate. Many factors go into autistic traits- and if a kid only shows socially acceptable ones, they might not get a DX- but be deeply struggling with social and sensory issues and emotional isolation. I give this less than 4 stars because the writing style was not for me at many times- so that's for my storygraph algorithm, and about the writing style and not the content itself.