Em Rusciano explains why she’s ‘acting more autistic’ since her diagnosis

Em Rusciano has explained why her autism and ADHD are more visible since she was formally diagnosed with a developmental disability.

In a video shared on Instagram Stories Friday, the podcaster says she’s spent her life “masking” her autistic behavior and finally feels free to express her true self.

“If you’re late diagnosed with ADHD, autistic, you may run into people saying you suddenly act more autistic or act more ADHD,” the 44-year-old said in the clip. .

“I’m going to give you a reason for that. So all our life there have been two planes that we have existed on. What actually went on in our heads and what we did with our bodies to mask and fit in,” Em continued.

“And that’s what makes us so exhausted and unwell. So when we get this diagnosis, we realize we don’t want the two planes. We want our mind and body to match.

So we started giving ourselves permission to drop that mask and close the gap between our bodies and our heads. And that’s why you suddenly start behaving more like you really feel.

“And you’re not actually performing an act, you’re actually more yourself than ever in your life,” the singer concluded.

It comes after Em shot down false claims earlier this year that she was ‘faking’ autism for attention.

In a lengthy statement on Facebook, Em outlined how “heavy-duty masking” of her symptoms helped her cope, but also made it less obvious to outsiders that she was struggling.

The statement came after media personality Meshel Laurie falsely suggested the comedian was using her condition for “influence.”

“The truth is that having spent my entire life developing coping techniques to try to fit in, I became an expert at appearing ‘fine’, but in reality my apparent competence was actually a heavy masking,” she wrote. Em.

“That’s how it is for most late-diagnosed women. I now know that so many of my mental health problems were because I was trying to force my brain into neurotypical structures and systems that weren’t designed for me.”

Em continued, “I just didn’t understand why life was so damn exhausting, but then I found out it was because I had to spend all my time pretending to find certain parts of it easy.

“I didn’t know that everyone else just knew how to make the right amount of eye contact when talking to a stranger.

“I have a great attention to detail because I spent hours painstakingly googling everything I do in case there’s a mistake and someone realizes I’m not really up to the task.

“I monitor myself in social interactions, I work really hard not to interrupt the person who is talking, not to take over the conversation and dump five minute information because they mentioned a topic I know everything about . When I’m excited, tired or anxious, I stimulate.’

At the time, Em received unwarranted backlash online after revealing she planned to potentially use the “sensory inclusivity room” at Marvel Stadium at a Harry Style concert in Melbourne.

‘I’m extremely sensitive to light and sound and textures. Sensory overload and burnout happens to me five or six times a week, which is why I was excited when I saw that the Marvel stadium had a sensory room,” she explained after being criticized.

These are just a few examples of how my ASD manifests itself, but I don’t need to explain myself. But this week I found myself putting up with people debating whether I’m autistic enough or not at all. How is that okay?’

The former radio star also called the questions surrounding her autism ‘limiting and ableist’ and that neurodivergent women, whose symptoms can present themselves slightly differently from those in men, are often left out of the conversation.

“The only examples of ADHD and autism I’d seen were the male presentation. But that’s the whole point, that’s why representation is important. More women like me need to be seen and heard so we can change the perceptions and narratives surrounding ADHD and ASD,” she said.

To prove her credibility to naysayers who have questioned her diagnosis and intentions behind its publication, Rusciano read her doctor’s assessment during an episode of her podcast.

She burst into tears and said she felt she should always have her report with her “to withdraw” if she was ever questioned again.

The star was originally denied a diagnosis by a male psychiatrist, who felt she didn’t meet the criteria, but she later found a female psychiatrist to assess her.

Rusciano was diagnosed with level one autism last November, just a year after being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).