ABSTRACT
Did you know that more boys are currently diagnosed as being autistic than girls? However, this doesn't necessarily mean that boys are more likely to be autistic than girls. The diagnostic rate for girls has been steadily catching up. This, combined with research into this area, means that individuals now believe that boys and girls are equally likely to be autistic, it's just that fewer girls are diagnosed than boys (Loomes et al., 2017). In other words, lots of girls are being ‘missed'. Why might this be? Well, there are lots of reasons for why the numbers might be different, including:
Girls may be more likely to 'mask' or try to behave in a certain way to fit in (we will look at ‘masking' in more detail later on).
The process to identify autism has been set up to focus on the way autistic boys tend to behave.
A lot of girls get diagnosed when they are grown up.
“I found out I was autistic when I was 11 years old, and I was over the moon because I knew I was different in the way I managed things compared to my friends and having a name for it helped me to understand what was causing my differences.
I knew I was different because I didn't like socialising as much as my friends did, I was very quiet, I also couldn't handle my emotions. When I got angry, I lashed out, and I was like ‘this isn't what my peers do…' so I knew there must be something different.
I struggle with social situations – I'm great at making friends but maintaining friends and unwritten social rules I struggle with a lot.
My school were really helpful as they understood about my autism. I was able to go to a different quiet area for lunch and break times, so I didn't have to go outside. I was able to go to the canteen early so it wasn't so crowded. I also had an amazing SENCo who was always there for me.
It is so important to understand what the person's individual needs are and just accept them, for example, if they have sensory tools, letting them bring them to school discretely to use, or if they don't like to go outside, letting them stay inside at break and lunchtime. Just meeting their needs and also helping them understand they can manage.
It would help if people knew that if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism. It's not always non-verbal boys who are autistic. This makes it very difficult for girls as there are still some people who say ‘no it's just for boys'.” – Thérèse
