Girls are more likely to be sent for psychiatric assessments or offered treatment for low self-esteem. This is particularly true in younger girls who may not yet have developed obvious signs of autistic social 'impairments'. The majority of professionals are not trained to even be aware of autism in girls, and teachers are less likely to spot the autistic girls in their class, therefore not referring them on for assessment and support.Īutism in girls is very often misdiagnosed as ADHD, and even when ADHD co-exists, it can hide the autism traits. Or because they are not male!Ī second important reason that women and girls go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed is that we do not necessarily present in the same way as our male counterparts. It is still annoyingly common for professionals to tell women and girls that they can’t be autistic, simply because they can make eye contact, or that they are too ‘able’ and ‘functioning’. The training of general medical practitioners to spot and diagnose autism is still extremely limited, so for autism in women and girls, it has been practically non-existent. In addition, autism has remained within the realms of psychiatry and medicine, which in turn has traditionally been dominated by male professionals. One factor is that traditionally, autism research and diagnosis - like ADHD in fact - has centred predominantly around boys.
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