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> What we do know, however, is that while girls and women do meet the diagnosis for >autism spectrum disorder, the ratio between men and women sits somewhere b
by aperrien 9y ago
> What we do know, however, is that while girls and women do meet the diagnosis for
>autism spectrum disorder, the ratio between men and women sits somewhere between 5:1 to
>3:1. We also know that men and women’s interests diverge in ways that are congruent with
>Baron-Cohen’s systematising- empathising spectrum. Women overwhelmingly prefer working
>with people, and have “artistic” and “social” vocational interests, and men
>overwhelmingly prefer working with things and have “investigative,” “enterprising,”
>“realistic,” and “conventional,” interests.
I feel, after having worked with kids (boys and girls) with Asperger's, that we as a society have historically missed (or dismissed) the signs of Asperger's in girls, and have done them a disservice in life by not helping them with those challenges. This book opened my eyes to some of the specific problems that girls (particularly young ones) face:
https://www.amazon.com/Aspergirls-Empowering-Females-Asperger-Syndrome-ebook/dp/B00GDJQNO4/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me= https://www.amazon.com/Aspergirls-Empowering-Females-Asperge...
I realize that only recently have we begun treating boys who are on the spectrum, and I'm happy about that, but we need to do better with girls and young women as well.
- bap 9y agoIn case you're interested and aren't already aware: UC Davis seems to be investing a bit in ASD research. This one, for instance, focuses on girls: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/research/gain/index.html http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/research/gain/ind... ..and there are a few others. Most focus on the intersection of Children and Autism in some form or another. Alternatively SciAm ran an article a while back around just this issue of how and why we're "missing it" when it comes to recognizing ASD early (or at all) for girls. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/autism-it-s-different-in-girls/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/autism-it-s-diffe...