The statistics and data about autism has shown a higher percentage of diagnosis in males vs females. Research has tried to determine why this is for a while. Is it simply more common in boys? Maybe it is an environmental, psychological, social, or genetic difference between the genders. New articles and research being published however is discussing the idea of camouflaging; the idea is that many girls go undiagnosed due to “suppressing autistic traits,” and “camouflaging their behaviour in an effort to try to fit in.” This appears to be an issue that occurs in girls and not boys as the manifestation of autism is disparate. The Guardian talks about a study conducted by three universities that show “Among female participants, the autistic and non-autistic children had almost identical scores, with autistic girls achieving an average score of 2.91 compared with 2.89 in the neurotypical group. Among boys, however, the non-autistic children achieved a significantly higher social reciprocity score, at 3.22 compared with 2.16 in the group with autism”
The importance of this study is how this has and will affect these undiagnosed or misdiagnosed girls and women. There is a benefit to having a doctor give you a diagnosis, especially when it comes to necessary accommodations or being able to get targeted help when needed. An article written by BYU talks about the mental health repercussions of this, saying “Of the 58 women in the study, who all had symptoms of autism, the majority reported frequently masking autistic characteristics. Troublingly, the majority also reported significant psychological distress—including depression (62%), stress (66%) and anxiety (67%)—and 62% reported past or present thoughts of suicide. More than half of the women additionally described difficulty in everyday functioning, such as maintaining friendships and successfully completing work tasks.” This discovery will hopefully lead to new research to learn more about this, as well as inform professionals and doctors of all types that work with autism that there is something new they should dive into.
A quote from the BYU article that was posted on the Totally Social ASD instagram a while back:
“When a girl or a young woman approaches a clinician with significant distress and social anxiety, that clinician should check for symptoms of autism, because she may be camouflaging. We have to start looking a little deeper to find out what’s going on with these women.” -Dr. Rebecca Lundwall
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/19/autistic-girls-going-undiagnosed-due-to-camouflaging-behaviour-study-claims
https://news.byu.edu/intellect/women-camouflaging-autistic-traits-suffer-severe-mental-health-challenges-byu-study-finds
Written by Katy Evans
The importance of this study is how this has and will affect these undiagnosed or misdiagnosed girls and women. There is a benefit to having a doctor give you a diagnosis, especially when it comes to necessary accommodations or being able to get targeted help when needed. An article written by BYU talks about the mental health repercussions of this, saying “Of the 58 women in the study, who all had symptoms of autism, the majority reported frequently masking autistic characteristics. Troublingly, the majority also reported significant psychological distress—including depression (62%), stress (66%) and anxiety (67%)—and 62% reported past or present thoughts of suicide. More than half of the women additionally described difficulty in everyday functioning, such as maintaining friendships and successfully completing work tasks.” This discovery will hopefully lead to new research to learn more about this, as well as inform professionals and doctors of all types that work with autism that there is something new they should dive into.
A quote from the BYU article that was posted on the Totally Social ASD instagram a while back:
“When a girl or a young woman approaches a clinician with significant distress and social anxiety, that clinician should check for symptoms of autism, because she may be camouflaging. We have to start looking a little deeper to find out what’s going on with these women.” -Dr. Rebecca Lundwall
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/19/autistic-girls-going-undiagnosed-due-to-camouflaging-behaviour-study-claims
https://news.byu.edu/intellect/women-camouflaging-autistic-traits-suffer-severe-mental-health-challenges-byu-study-finds
Written by Katy Evans