PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — April is Autism Awareness Month. Statistics show that girls are not diagnosed with spectrum disorders as soon or as often as boys.
One Montgomery County mother went through a large part of her life undiagnosed, and is now guiding her two sons who are also autistic.
Elizabeth Lipp said she knew the moment her first son was born, in 2000, that he had an issue. When her second son arrived three years later, they had him tested as well.
She said her own diagnosis came just before her second son. She wasn't surprised.
Related Podcast: Hear more of Elizabeth's story in this episode of In Depth
"I knew my entire life. My mom always said, 'She's different.' All my teachers always said, 'She's different.' That is the label I got," Lipp told KYW Newsradio.
Lipp was 39 when she was diagnosed, after a psychologist friend tested her. "For me, it was both a really big surprise and no surprise at all."
"I discovered what I actually did is called masking. Just trying to keep myself together and trying to hold together a 'normal' face to the world and trying to contain this difference," she added, "because whatever that was, it made me a target for bullying."
Related Jawncast: Why is it so difficult to diagnose Autism in women?
Laura Gaffney, family support services coordinator at South Jersey-based Durand Inc., said she couldn't imagine how that must have felt for all of Lipp's life.
"To feel that she had to hide who she really was, and force herself into eye contact and force herself into social interactions where it might have been painful for her," she empathized.
According to Gaffney, it's harder for young girls to meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis as it is for boys.
"The criteria for diagnosis for autism is very, very narrow," she explained. "We have to have three persistent deficits and social interaction, deficits like sharing of interests, engaging in reciprocity and conversation going back and forth, being able to interpret gestures and facial expressions. And we have to be able to show that we have difficulty in pretend play."
Because of masking, young girls and women may not outwardly exhibit any of those deficits. "They've learned to compensate and do them anyway, and force themselves to do them. So it's a perfect camouflage for their symptoms," said Gaffney.
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"To take the mask off must have been so freeing. She doesn't need to hide who she is because she is beautiful."
Lipp's triumphs continue. Her oldest son just graduated with an associates degree in business administration while holding down a pair of part-time jobs for the past five years.
"This was the kid who had such behaviors and such sensory issues, I was told that he would probably not be able to work and you know, college was out of the question," she said.
Now, he's lined up for part-time employment in the career of his choice as he aims for his goal of full-time employment. "We're very happy about that," Lipp shared.
Her younger son is in high school marching band, is a competitive bowler and has a part-time job at a pizzeria. Lipp calls him her stealth guy. "He knows exactly what he needs to do to blend in," she described.
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"He's a slow processor, which I think a lot of people take to mean that he's not very intelligent. That's not true. It takes him a little longer to process ... he has actually put more into learning what he needs to learn. He's doing great."
With Autism Awareness Month upon us, Lipp shared her advice for helping children navigate their spectrum disorders.
"The single best and biggest thing that any parent in this position can do is to get involved in your local interagency coordinating council ... every county has one of these. You get to know other parents, and you get to know providers, and you get to learn the language of what your child needs," she suggested.
"That's probably the best single piece of advice I can give any parents starting out on this journey. Build your village."
A recent study reveals noteworthy findings about the intersection between the autistic community and the justice system.