Skins star Megan Prescott says autism in women is ‘badly misunderstood’ by most people

The actor was diagnosed as autistic at 29 years old

Actor Megan Prescott has opened up about being diagnosed with autism as an adult.

Prescott, 31, who is best known for playing Katie Finch in the E4 teen series Skins, has revealed that she was diagnosed as autistic in 2021.

She appeared in the show alongside her twin sister Kathryn Prescott, who played Emily Finch in the series.

In an Instagram post shared for Autism Awareness Day on Sunday (2 April), the actor wrote: “In December 2021 I was diagnosed as autistic. Since then I’ve been slowly getting comfortable with explaining this to people I know, but I’ve been nervous to say anything on here about it because of how badly misunderstood autism in women is by most people.”

She added that there are still members of her family that she has not yet told about her diagnosis because she thinks the “response will be too upsetting”.

Prescott continued that women diagnosed with autism are “very misunderstood”.

“When I’ve told people I am autistic, the response I’ve got most often is something along the lines of ‘Well everyone’s on the spectrum a bit’ – which, although it might be well-intentioned, is a pretty s*** response to someone telling you they’re autistic,” she added.

“Firstly, that response sounds like you’re trying to console the autistic person by saying ‘don’t feel bad, we’re all a bit like that’ which implies that not only is autism a bad thing, but it also completely invalidates the struggles that that autistic person may have experienced throughout their life.”

Prescott added that the downplaying of autism is why rates of “anxiety and depression in autistic people are so huge”.

The actor, who has also appeared in the BBC drama series Holby City and Silent Witness reminded her followers that autism is not a “superpower”.

“We live in a society that is constructed from the ground up for people with neurotypical brains.”

She  continued: “I do believe that autism COULD be a ‘gift’ IF the world we lived in was made accessible to neurodiverse people.”

“However, almost all of the structures, systems and social ‘rules’ that we live by have been created by and for neurotypical people and don’t allow for the vast differences in how neurodiverse minds work.”

Prescott added that she wishes there were “more conversations about autism in women” as she explains that most “of the diagnostic criteria involved in autism assessment is based on research done exclusively on men.”

According to the National Autistic Society, more men are diagnosed as autistic than women because autism assessments are less sensitive to autistic traits more commonly found in women and girls.

Women and girls are more likely to ‘mask’ or camouflage their differences, which means autistic traits are sometimes under-reported by teachers.