Table 1.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of the sample

Name (pseudonym)	Age	Preferred gender designation	Sexual orientation	Education level	Age received autism diagnosis	Age received GD diagnosis
Alana	34	Woman	Straight	GCSE	14	32
Alex	18	Man	Gay	GCSE	16	17
Felix	39	Genderqueer	Grey asexual pan-romantic	Masters	34	37
Kate	33	Non-binary transfemine androgynous	Queer	Degree	32	34
Max	28	Man/agender	Bi-sexual	A-level	26	25
Paula	50	Woman	Asexual	NVQ	49	45
Rhianna	31	Woman	Lesbian/asexual	NVQ	14	29
Sam	25	Man	Asexual	NVQ	7	22
Walter	65	Man	Straight	PhD	35	61
Zain	51	Man	Straight	NVQ	40	48

Sexual/gender identity terms used were given by participants

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education, an academic qualification, generally taken in a number of subjects by pupils in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, A-Level a qualification in a specific subject typically taken by school students aged 16–18, at a level above GCSE, NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) is a work-based way of learning—which is carried out at a college, school, or workplace