Women & Girls on the Autism Spectrum: A Profile

Authors

  • Wenn B. Lawson ACRC, The University of Queensland, C/O PO Box 5033, Warrnambool, Vic. 3280, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2017.05.03.4

Keywords:

Autism, Females, Presentation, Diagnosis, Gender

Abstract

Being female and autistic is poorly understood, but is autism really ‘rare’ in females? Historically, autism has been associated with traditionally masculine features and stereotypes of behaviour, with some believing autism only occurred in males [1]. This leads scientific enquiry to the critical question of whether there are more males living with autism or, conversely, do females on the autistic spectrum present differently to males and, therefore, are at risk of remaining undiagnosed?

References

Kanner L. Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child 1943; 2: 217-250.

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Wing L. Sex ratios in early childhood autism and related conditions. Psychiatry Research 1981; 5(2): 129-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(81)90043-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(81)90043-3

Asperger H. Autistic psychopathy in childhood. In U. Frith (Ed.), Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1992; pp. 37-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511526770.002

Attwood T. The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2007.

Carter AS, Black DO, Tewani S, Connolly CE, Kadlec MB, Tager-Flusberg H. Sex differences in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders. J Aut Dev Dis 2007; 37(1): 86-97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0331-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0331-7

Lawson W. Understanding and Working with the Spectrum of Autism. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2001.

Lawson W. The passionate mind: How individuals with autism learn. London: JKP 2011.

Kranz G, Hahn A, Kaufmann U, Koblbick M, Hummer A, Ganger, et al. White matter microstructure in transsexuals and controls investigated by diffusion tensor imaging. Journal of Neuroscience 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2488-14.2014

WHO, 2017: http://www.who.int/genomics/gender/en/index1. html

McPartland JC, Volkmar FR. Asperger syndrome and its relationships to autism. In the neuroscience of autism spectrum disorders, edited by Buxbaum JD, Hof PR. Oxford: Elsevier Press 2013; 55-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-391924-3.00004-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-391924-3.00004-1

Moyse R, Porter J. The experience of the hidden curriculum for autistic girls at mainstream primary schools. European J of Spec Needs Edu 2015; 30(2): 187- 201. ISSN 0885-6257 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2014.986915

Cridland EK, Jones SC, Caputi P, Magee C. Being a girl in a boys' world: Investigating the experiences of girls with autism spectrum disorders during adolescence. J of Aut and Dev Dis 2014; 44(6): 1261-1274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1985-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1985-6

Dean M, Kasari C, Shih W, Frankel F, Whitney R, Landa RC. et al. The peer relationships of girls with ASD at school: Comparison to boys and girls with and without ASD. The Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12242

Dworzynski K, Ronald A, Bolton P, Happé F. How different are girls and boys above and below the diagnostic threshold for autism spectrum disorders? J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2012; 51(8): 788-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2012.05.018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2012.05.018

Harrop C, Shire S, Gulsrud A, Chang YC, Ishijima E, Lawton K, et al. Does gender influence core deficits in ASD? An investigation into social-communication and play of girls and boys with ASD. J of Dev Dis 2015; 45(3): 766-77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2234-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2234-3

Head AM, McGillivray JM, Stokes MA. Gender differences in emotionality and sociability in children with autism spectrum disorders Mol Autism 2014; 5: 19. Published online 2014 Feb 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-19 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-19

Nichols S, Moravcik GM, Tetenbaum SP. Girls growing up on the autism spectrum: What parents and professionals should know about the pre-teen and teenage years, London: JKP 2008.

Van Wijngaarden-Cremers PJ, van Eeten E, Groen WB, Van Deurzen PA, Oosterling IJ, Van der Gaag RJ. Gender, and age differences in the core triad of impairments in autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J of Aut and Dev Dis 2014; 44(3): 627-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1913-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1913-9

Wing L, Gould J, Gillberg C. Autism spectrum disorders in the DSM-V: Better or worse than the DSM-IV? Research in Developmental Disabilities 2011; 32: 768-773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2010.11.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2010.11.003

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: Author 2000.

Baron-Cohen S. The extreme male brain theory of autism. Cog Sci 2002; 6(6): 248-254. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(02)01904-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(02)01904-6

Lai M-C, Lombardo MV, Suckling J, Ruigrok ANV, Chakrabarti B, Ecker C, et al. Biological sex affects the neurobiology of autism. Brain 2013. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt216 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt216

Bjorne P. Personal Communication 2017.

Marshall T. Aspien Girl: The unique characteristics, traits and gifts of girls on the autism spectrum. Tania Marshal: Australia 2014.

Yaull-Smith D. Gils on the spectrum: file:///C:/Users/Home/ Downloads/Dale-Yaull-Smith-Communication-29. Spring-2008.pdf

Myles BS. The cycle of tantrums, rage, and meltdowns in children and youth with Asperger syndrome, high-functioning autism, and related disabilities. http://www.isec2005.org.uk/ isec/abstracts/papers_m/myles_b.shtml

Halladay AK, Bishop S, Constantino JN, Daniels AM, Koenig K, Palmer K, et al. Sex and gender differences in autism spectrum disorder: summarizing evidence gaps and identifying emerging areas of priority. Mol Autism 2015; 6: 36. PubMed. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-015-0019-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-015-0019-y

Constantino, John N. et al. Gender bias, female resilience, and the sex ratio in autism. J American Acad. of Child & Adol Psych 2012; 51(8): 756-758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2012.05.017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2012.05.017

Cornish MTC, Rinehart N. Does Gender Matter? A one year follow-up of autistic, attention and anxiety symptoms in high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder. J of Aut and Develop Dis 2014; 44(5): 1077-1086. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1964-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1964-y

Lawson W. Autism spectrum conditions: The pathophysiological basis for inattention and the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. OA Autism 2013; 1(1): 1-5. https://doi.org/10.13172/2052-7810-1-1-343 DOI: https://doi.org/10.13172/2052-7810-1-1-343

Downloads

Published

2017-10-16

How to Cite

B. Lawson, W. (2017). Women & Girls on the Autism Spectrum: A Profile. Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 5(3), 90–95. https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2017.05.03.4

Issue

Section

General Articles