Discussed in this Episode:

✅ Use “I Am Autistic Girl” after a diagnosis and pause on the purple questions printed on each page to check how each characteristic actually presents for that specific girl.

✅ Treat sharing a diagnosis as an everyday, ongoing conversation (a bit like the birds and the bees) rather than one serious sit-down moment.

✅ For teenagers, arrange for the psychologist who did the diagnosis to explain it in their context, then follow up at home.

✅ Guide older girls toward lived-experience mentors and safe online communities (for example, Yellow Ladybugs) so they can hear other people say things that make them think, “Oh, that’s me.”

✅ Build genuine downtime into a girl’s afternoon so she can switch off after masking all day at school.

✅ Watch for the chameleon effect fading across the day: little mistakes tolerated in the morning that trigger distress by the afternoon.

✅ Look for perfectionism, a fear of getting things wrong, and reluctance to ask for help as quieter signs a girl may be struggling.

✅ Use the school wellbeing department or counsellor as a natural bridge when raising a concern with parents.

✅ Build a relationship with the girl through her special interest, noticing how her demeanour relaxes and her passion comes out when she talks about it.

✅ At pickup, read her face first and ask whether she wants to talk or would prefer quiet time, rather than bombarding her with questions.

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