Mrs. Minnesota International Feroza Mehta was diagnosed with autism at 37 and now promotes awareness.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — For Feroza Mehta, the reigning Mrs. Minnesota International, the path to self-discovery didn’t involve a stage or a sash. Instead, it came at age 37 through a diagnosis that finally explained decades of feeling like an outsider: autism.
Mehta is now using her platform to raise awareness about how autism presents in women—a demographic she says is frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed due to a phenomenon known as “masking.”
A former TV news reporter, Mehta says her professional success in communication initially made the diagnosis a shock. However, she explains that many women and girls experience a “quiet” autism, where they study and mimic the facial expressions, tone, and body language of those around them to perform “normally.”
“I always felt like I was an outsider,” Mehta said. “At school or at work, I had to mask. Constantly observe and adapt rather than belonging.”
While effective for social survival, Mehta warns that constant masking is mentally draining and often leads to exhaustion, anxiety, and depression.
According to Mehta, autism often presents differently in girls than in boys, leading to several hurdles in the diagnostic process:
- Internalized Distress: While boys may show externalized behaviors like meltdowns, girls often internalize struggle as perfectionism or withdrawal.
- Socially Acceptable Interests: Focused interests in girls—such as animals, music, or academic subjects—often appear “normal” to observers. Mehta notes the difference is the intensity and emotional reliance on the topic.
- Sensory Sensitivities: Sensory overloads are often dismissed as being “picky” or “dramatic” rather than recognized as neurological differences.
- Misdiagnosis: Women are frequently treated for anxiety, depression, ADHD, or eating disorders without providers identifying autism as the underlying cause.
The community can support these resources at the upcoming Steps for Autism event. It’s Sunday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the ROC at St. Louis Park Rec Center.
