\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n \tRelated story \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRHOC’s Jeana Keough’s Daughter Shares the Subtle First Symptom of Her Mom’s Tongue Cancer: ‘Confirmed Our Worst Fear’\t\t<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n \t \n\t\u201cI love games. I love game shows. I\u2019m extremely competitive, and I love puzzles and everything,\u201d King told Us Weekly<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI actually found out right after the show that I\u2019m autistic, and so I was like, \u2018Everything makes so much sense now.\u2019 But I didn\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tKing\u2019s experience of living undiagnosed for decades isn\u2019t uncommon, especially for women. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)<\/a> is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that affects brain development, social communication, and interaction. Since it\u2019s a spectrum<\/em>, the condition looks different from one person to the next.<\/p>\n \n\tEven though ASD is usually diagnosed in early childhood<\/a>, women are frequently misdiagnosed or missed altogether. This is largely due to outdated diagnostic criteria \u2014 historically, medical benchmarks were based on how ASD presents in young boys. According to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>, boys are about four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism<\/a> than girls.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s also driven by \u201cmasking<\/a>,\u201d where young girls learn to internalize their challenges and mimic social cues to blend in. When they do look for help, clinicians often focus on overlapping struggles like anxiety, panic issues, or depression instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tKing isn\u2019t the only public figure<\/a> opening up about an adult diagnosis; R&B singer SZA also recently confirmed<\/a> her own ASD on social media, noting how it plays into her pattern recognition.<\/p>\n \n\tFor King, who\u2019s also a mom of two, getting these answers has given her a roadmap for prioritizing self-care and shifting how she moves through the world.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of not my proudest moments, and so especially with my autism diagnosis, I am putting new kinds of safety barricades,\u201d King explained. \u201cAnd I just want to be around people that I feel safe around, and I just want to do things that bring me joy.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn her original post, King shared a clip of an unreleased track where she sings about feeling misunderstood and carrying the weight of past failures. Moving forward, she\u2019s taking that self-awareness and using it to find a better balance between her music and her home life.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI keep telling myself whatever this next chapter is, I really want to be present<\/a> and enjoy it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tKing\u2019s transparency shows that finding answers about your own mind doesn\u2019t have an expiration date. It\u2019s never too late to advocate for yourself, drop the mask, and set up the boundaries you need to thrive.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"BRAVOCON](\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-sheknows-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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