01489 880881 Donate Shop Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum About Autism Below is an article adapted from Gould, J. and Ashton, J. (2011) "Good Autism Practice", exploring some of the issues related to autism and gender, including research into autism in women and girls. Women and girls on the Autism Spectrum In recent years, questions have been raised about the ratio of males to females diagnosed as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Overall the most recent studies suggest that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is about one in 100, but what of the male/female ratio? There is no hard evidence of numbers. Various studies, together with anecdotal evidence, have come up with male/female ratios ranging from 2:1 to 16:1. Whatever the true ratio, clinical referrals to a specialist diagnostic centre have seen a steady increase in the number of girls and women referred. Because of the male gender bias, girls are less likely to be identified with ASD, even when their symptoms are equally severe. Many girls are never referred for diagnosis and are missed from the statistics. Emphasis is placed on the different manifestations of behaviour in autism spectrum conditions as seen in girls and women compared with boys and men. The different way in which girls and women present under the following headings have been identified below; social understanding, social communication, social imagination which is highly associated with routines, rituals and special interests. Some examples are: Girls are more able to follow social actions by delayed imitation because they observe other children and copy them, perhaps masking the symptoms of Asperger syndrome (Attwood, 2007). Girls are often more aware of and feel a need to interact socially. They are involved in social play, but are often led by their peers rather than initiating social contact. Girls are more socially inclined and many have one special friend. In our society, girls are expected to be social in their communication. Girls on the spectrum do not ‘do social chit chat’ or make ‘meaningless’ comments in order to facilitate social communication. The idea of a social hierarchy and how one communicates with people of different status can be problematic and get girls into trouble with teachers. Evidence suggests that girls have better imagination and more pretend play (Knickmeyer et al, 2008). Many have a very rich and elaborate fantasy world with imaginary friends. Girls escape into fiction, and some live in another world with, for example, fairies and witches. The interests of girls in the spectrum are very often similar to those of other girls – animals, horses, classical literature – and therefore are not seen as unusual. It is not the special interests that differentiate them from their peers but it is the quality and intensity of these interests. Many obsessively watch soap operas and have an intense interest in celebrities. The presence of repetitive behaviour and special interests is part of the diagnostic criteria for an autism spectrum disorder. This is a crucial area in which the male stereotype of autism has clouded the issue in diagnosing girls and women. As highlighted above, the current international diagnostic criteria do not give examples of the types of difficulties experienced by girls and women. In order to recognise the different behavioural manifestations, it is important to take a much wider perspective regarding the social, communication and imagination dimensions in addition to the special interests and rigidity of behaviour. The girls and women learn to act in social settings. Unenlightened diagnosticians perceive someone who appears able and who has reciprocal conversation and who uses appropriate affect and gestures as not fulfilling the criteria set out in the international classification systems. Therefore a diagnosis is missed. It is only by asking the right questions, taking a developmental history, and observing the person in different settings, that it becomes clear that the individual has adopted a social role which is based on intellect rather than social intuition. To quote: “The fact that girls with undiagnosed autism are painstakingly copying some behaviour is not picked up and therefore any social and communication problems they may be having are also overlooked. This sort of mimicking and repressing their autistic behaviour is exhausting, perhaps resulting in the high statistics of women with mental health problems.” (Yaull-Smith, 2008). It is important to prepare girls for a life of quality as adult women. Schools need better trained staff to recognise and address the needs of pupils on the autism spectrum and especially the more ‘subtle’ presentation in girls. Schools need to be more ‘girl-friendly’ with girl orientated personal, social skills classes. There needs to be a focus on the ‘hidden curriculum’, which directly teaches the skills that typically-developing girls learn indirectly and intuitively, such as the unwritten rules of girls’ social interactions. Girl orientated personal, social and health education should be part of the curriculum. Schools educating girls on the autism spectrum should focus on teaching independence and strategies to reduce vulnerability. They also need to address self-image, self-esteem and confidence building. Gender identity is a big issue for girls (Cooper et al, 2018), as is emotional well-being and fostering mental health. Society has expectations of both men and women, but many women on the autism spectrum believe that these expectations are greater for women. In the book Asperger’s Syndrome for Dummies (Gomez de la Cuesta & Mason, 2010), the authors touch on this issue and describe different ‘types’ of women on the autism spectrum. At work, women experience ‘a glass ceiling that is double glazed’ according to the authors. Women experience the same difficulties as other women, plus the difficulties experienced by women on the autism spectrum. These women often go into professions that are traditionally male-orientated. Harder (2010) has produced a book called Illustrated glimpses of Asperger's for Friends and Colleagues. This gives a valuable insight into the difficulties women on the autism spectrum experience at work and provides explanations to colleagues of the different ways in which such women perceive the world. The difficulties in the diagnosis of girls and women arise if clinicians continue to use the narrow definitions set out in the International Classification Systems. It cannot be stressed enough that diagnosis and full assessment of needs cannot be carried out by following a checklist. Proper assessment takes time and detailed evaluation is necessary to enable a clinician to systematically collect information which not only provides a diagnostic label, but more importantly, a detailed profile of the person. We wish to draw attention to the fact that many women with an autism spectrum condition are not being diagnosed and are therefore not receiving the help and support needed throughout their lives. Having a diagnosis is the starting point in providing appropriate support for girls and women in the spectrum. A timely diagnosis can avoid many of the difficulties women and girls with an autism spectrum disorder experience throughout their lives. References More useful pages What is Autism? A History of Autism Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum David Burns MBE: Reflections on Autism Local people share their experiences of being autistic Making Workplaces Autism-Friendly Autism Storytime - Children's Books Autism Friendly Classrooms Creating opportunities, challenging perceptions, enhancing choices and providing high quality services to meet the diverse needs of people on the autism spectrum Keep up to date with us Submit I would like to receive news and updates from Autism Hampshire using this information. How we can help About Autism About us Support Us Local Autism Directory News & Events Jobs Donate Need local autism help and information? Call our Information, Advice and Guidance Team 02380 766 162 See our contact page for specific departments Privacy Statement Contact Links Accessibility Options © Autism Hampshire, all rights reserved. Charity Reg No: 288141. Reg. No. 01710300