Does autism present differently in women than men? Do you have autistic traits you’ve been explaining away since childhood? Why are women underdiagnosed? Learn how autistic women fly under the radar and what some of our “tells” are. We’ll explore appearance, intellect, emotions, learning styles and relationships. We’ll define camouflaging and masking and how this makes it harder to identify where we get stuck.
Masking for girls on the autism spectrum is a big issue that can cause bigger problems when trying to diagnose girls with autism. Autism in girls is currently less commonly diagnosed as it is in boys, this may be due to a few factors. Autism being a relatively new diagnosis the medical industry are trying to play catch up and get educated on the autism spectrum disorder. Autism is girls is now after all this time being looked at as a slightly different diagnostic criteria because of the masking trait that girls with autism usually posses.
In this episode, Harold Reitman, M.D. speaks with Becca Lory, director of development for GRASP (Global & Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership). Becca is a great neurodiversity advocate, and tells the story of her journey, from struggling in school and work, to dealing with severe depression, to an initial misdiagnosis of schizophrenia, to finally receiving a diagnosis of Asperger’s at the age of 35. Decca also discusses the unique challenges women have to receive an autism diagnosis.
Women and autism
We often hear about autism in men, but rarely in women. The Feed looks at three different generations of women living with autism and how the stigma of the condition is amplified.
International Women’s Day and Autism
Wednesday sees the commemoration of International Women’s Day.
Over the last few months i have been involved in a number of conversations about women and autism.
Two questions came up repeatedly.
Firstly – how difficult it is for women to be diagnosed with autism? (Currently in the UK 80% of those diagnosed with autism in the UK are male.) Secondly the lack of services specially designed for and provided to females on the autism spectrum.
So I was wondering if this experience was more universal that just London. I’d really like to know the opinions of others.
Thus I’ve set up a one question poll to find out if women on the autism spectrum are getting the services they need. It would be really great if you could take part.
Secondly we would love to hear the voices of autistic women. It would be great if you could share your story ( or the story of a female loved one with autism) in the comments section below.
Many thanks in advance.