Autistic women are much more likely to be misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, and underserved than autistic men, yet our relationship with our identities is much more complicated than simply “underdiagnosis.” At least in part because we are not as interested in or responsive to social norms, we are more likely to be transgender, non-binary, and/or gender non-conforming: some of us may not identify as women at all. Furthermore, because autism is a way of being that is uniquely different from allism (i.e., not being autistic), we are capable of experiencing gender in ways that are inherently unrelatable and inaccessible to allistic people. With increasing awareness of and support for the neurodiversity paradigm, which posits that autism is an expression of human biodiversity rather than a pathological condition, and increasing availability of queer and transgender resources, more and more autistic people are able to both access and express queer autistic genders. Working within the neurodiversity paradigm and drawing from queer theory and neuroqueer theory, which suggests that it is possible and even potentially positive to intentionally “queer” one’s own neurodivergence, this study seeks to describe the ways in which autistic women and autistic woman-proximal people are neuroqueering gender. I establish the social and historical context in which autistics navigate queer genders and queer neurotypes, and examine existing writing about autistic woman-proximal gender. Given this context, I conduct qualitative interviews to describe how queer / non-cisgender, neurodiversity-oriented, woman-proximal autistics understand, create, and intentionally push the boundaries of our genders and our neurodivergences.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a debilitating disorder that adversely affects the lives of individuals and their intimate relationships. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of the partners of individuals who suffer from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. The theories guiding this study were the interpersonal theory of suicide and the adult attachment theory. This study examined the overall relationship experience of partners of individuals suffering from PMDD and their cyclic attachment styles during the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle. A selection of three PMDD partners and three PMDD sufferers, who have been in an intimate relationship for six months or longer, were interviewed to measure the fluctuation in the overall relationship experience and cyclic attachment styles. Overall, the attachment styles of the PMDD partners may be affected because of the cyclic anguish of the PMDD sufferers during the luteal and follicular phases of menstruation. The fluctuating attachment styles of the PMDD sufferer can impact the PMDD partner’s overall relationship experience.

The use of behavior modification (BM) based treatment, the best-known example being Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), is established as an evidence-based practice for promoting communication and other outcomes for Autistic individuals. As such, many Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) use it in their practice to target various forms of communication. Among many autistic advocacy groups, however, ABA and other BM informed therapies are often described as a detriment to mental and emotional health. Organizations such as the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) have come out against the practices and recommend finding different approaches to teaching communication skills. Much research is needed to understand this disconnect between the scientific and clinical community’s understanding of BM based therapy as an effective, evidence-based therapy model, and the experience of autistic advocates as traumatic. As a small, early step in the large amount of research needed, this study takes a qualitative, phenomenological based approach, using semi-structured interviews to gain insight into the lived experiences of autistic individuals who were recipients of BM based intervention. The results of this study have the potential to illuminate future research directions, help therapists develop a more comprehensive understanding about the effects of BM on the lives of autistic individuals, and begin the work of building common priorities between the clinical and autistic communities.

The term “neurodivergent” should be used over the phrase “mental disability” because it is a more accurate, much safer, and easily accessible term to use.  There are many reasons why the language surrounding mental disabilities should be changed.  The stigma of the word “disability” alone can be damaging enough to a disabled person.  Furthermore, the phrase “mental disability” doesn’t accurately describe what they are and instead implies an inability to mentally function.  Both of these factors combined has led to openly mentally disabled people fear for their safety as their diagnosis can be used against them once it’s public knowledge.  The already used term “neurodivergent” helps remedy these problems with mental disability language.  The term has yet to be associated with negative stigma due to it being a word created by disabled people and disability activists.  The phrasing of the word implies more of a difference in brain function, which more accurately describes what a mental disability is.  Finally, using the term can help set more protected boundaries than giving out specifics would.

Three issues guided this review. First, factors that increase the incidence of gender dysphoria among DHRC is examined. Second, the change in the generational view of gender identity will be reviewed and contrasted. Finally, school and community-based programs will be reviewed. Issues related to gender dysphoria among the population diagnosed with ASD is a specific focus. By identifying and defining Gender Identity, educators will be more equipped to support all students and create a gender inclusive classroom.

In this thesis, I advocate for access and rhetorical agency for academics with in/visible (dis)abilities. This is also to say that my work is self-advocacy as I negotiate my positionality within academic ableism as a marginalized person with (dis)abilities.  I take an intersectional and interdependent approach to (dis)ability justice and embodied rhetorics, dialoguing with borderland theory, critical race theory, feminist, and decolonial scholarship.  Ultimately, I hope to model an ADHD/neuroqueer form of writing that allows me to discover the rhetorical strengths I and other neuroqueer writers have to offer while reimagining access in discursive sites of power such as the composition classroom, (dis)ability disclosure, and Student Disability Services.