Aut Girls more different then Aut boys from gender peers

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ASPartOfMe
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14 May 2015, 12:36 am

Why Are Girls Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder Less Often Than Boys?

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“When girls and boys with autism are compared to sex-specific typically developing counterparts,” explained Nordahl, “the behavioral differences between girls with autism and typically developing girls are much larger than differences between boys with autism and typically developing boys.” “This suggests that girls can be considered more severely affected than boys, even if differences aren’t obvious when girls and boys with autism are directly compared.”

Nordahl continued, “We don’t yet know enough about females with autism because most research studies do not have equal numbers of females and males with autism in their samples.
Nordahl explained that “we need to do a better job of trying to recruit females with autism into our studies so that we can fully explore differences between males and females with autism.”

Nordahl commented, “Our study adds to a growing body of evidence that there are differences between boys and girls with autism. These differences may affect how boys and girls are diagnosed with autism as well as potentially the types of treatments or interventions that boys and girls with autism receive.


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Magneto
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14 May 2015, 5:29 am

I recall the possibility being raised that girls with autism may be harder to spot, hence only the more severely affected girls will actuallly recieve a diagnosis. Selection bias, really - we don't know what we don't know. Given that there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe development would go different in girls, so as to skew the distribution, it seems to be the most likely explanation. The idea is that girls with autism are more likely to have NT friends who will help to mask the traits.



androbot01
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14 May 2015, 3:53 pm

I think girls are better skilled at masking the behavioural symptoms of autism, but the experience of autism is just as challenging as for boys.



Sweetleaf
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14 May 2015, 5:11 pm

Really...I'd have never guessed considering there are also differences between non autistic boys and girls...

I do get sick of hearing how us girls supposedly adapt better.


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Sweetleaf
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14 May 2015, 5:12 pm

androbot01 wrote:
I think girls are better skilled at masking the behavioural symptoms of autism, but the experience of autism is just as challenging as for boys.


That is what they say a lot, but I don't feel it's the case with me.


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shlaifu
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14 May 2015, 5:40 pm

so... I know there's a lot of criticism towards the 'extreme male brain' hypothesis.
But if one were to accept for a moment, that, at least on the surface, autistic traits correlate more with what society considers intrinsic male traits, it's not surprising that an autistic girls would appear more out of line among girls, than an autistic boy among his male peers.

to oversimplify and use archaic stereotypes: a boy who's very good at math is not considered as *special* as a girl who's good at math.

how much of this phenomenon is socially engineered, however, is another question.


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guzzle
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14 May 2015, 6:05 pm

Probably cause girls are more likely to be diagnosed according to symptoms rather than cause.



Magneto
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15 May 2015, 6:17 am

Sweetleaf wrote:
Really...I'd have never guessed considering there are also differences between non autistic boys and girls...

I do get sick of hearing how us girls supposedly adapt better.

So? If it's true that more girls adapt better, it is true, regardless.



androbot01
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15 May 2015, 12:56 pm

Adaptation has its downside. You never really fit. It's just a game of make believe.
It's a boring game. I'm thinking I might end the game. There doesn't seem to be any reward to playing. Just existence in a world of the dead and dying.
My neighbor may be able to get a gun for me. I will take my dog and go to the lake country and kill us both there.



nerdygirl
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15 May 2015, 1:25 pm

I have spent a lot of time with lots of different kids.

I know that there are individual differences, but in general, girls are much more subdued than boys. They physically act out less, and their voices are usually softer.

If one is looking at some of the more physically demonstrative traits of autism, like meltdowns or stims, they might miss it in girls. Not because they don't exist, but because a girl's "acting out" may only be seen as comparative to an NT boy's level of "acting out" and not seen as anything extreme. What I mean by extreme is something that is not normally encountered. If an adult (ie. parent or teacher) has experience with this type of behavior from NT boys, it's not going to be noticed much if a girl acts the same way. She might be seen as an unusual girl, but not as an unusual child. It won't necessarily cause an adult to think that something is "off."

It makes sense that the girls usually diagnosed with be those with the most extreme presentation of symptoms. The girls who are diagnosed are probably very extroverted.. Or else they are so introverted that their muteness is extreme. The slightly introverted or slightly extroverted girl with ASD is probably not going to draw a lot of attention. These girls might be labeled as having an "attitude problem" or "shy".

It's important for girls to be compared with other girls. The differences are much more likely to show up. This may not necessarily be in interests, but in behavior. Is the girl who hits another girl on the playground a bad girl or a girl with ASD? Is the girl who only has friends that are boys "just" an odd girl, or one with ASD? Is the girl that is extremely quiet shy or does she have ASD? What makes a certain girl in the class ostracized and/or subjected to ridicule?



nerdygirl
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15 May 2015, 1:32 pm

I know NT boys don't truly have meltdowns or stims, but please try to get the general idea of my post and not nit-pick about details.



Sweetleaf
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15 May 2015, 3:05 pm

Magneto wrote:
Sweetleaf wrote:
Really...I'd have never guessed considering there are also differences between non autistic boys and girls...

I do get sick of hearing how us girls supposedly adapt better.

So? If it's true that more girls adapt better, it is true, regardless.


It is questionable whether it is true or not is what I mean....and certainly was not the case with me. So either I am unique from most females with autism as in not having adapted better, or we don't generally adapt better as a sex/gender and such claims lack concrete basis.


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Magneto
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16 May 2015, 5:44 am

You are a sample of one. One cannot draw any conclusions from such a sample size.



nerdygirl
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16 May 2015, 6:02 am

I'm with Sweetleaf on this one.

Who's to decide what "adapting" is, anyways?

Let's make a hypothetical situation regarding a high-functioning male vs. a high-functioning female. Let's say they both have a special interest in video games. They both have jobs.

HF male is more "obviously" autistic to the outside world. He is a good worker, but is awkward and doesn't gel with other workers. However, outside of work, he has found a group of guys that also like to play video games. He struggles a bit with social interactions but can get past that when playing video games. He belongs to a gaming group and is generally happy.

HF female is not "obviously" autistic because she somehow learned to navigate social contexts better (or her symptoms are less physical/behavioral in nature.) She doesn't have any problems at work, and coworkers will talk to her regularly. But she knows no other females that share her interest in video games. She sees no one outside of work, has no friends despite wanting them, and feels very lonely.

Who's more adapted?



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16 May 2015, 9:55 am

androbot01 wrote:
Adaptation has its downside. You never really fit. It's just a game of make believe.
It's a boring game. I'm thinking I might end the game. There doesn't seem to be any reward to playing. Just existence in a world of the dead and dying.
My neighbor may be able to get a gun for me. I will take my dog and go to the lake country and kill us both there.

No, please no... Don't do that. :(



androbot01
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16 May 2015, 12:42 pm

Tollorin wrote:
androbot01 wrote:
Adaptation has its downside. You never really fit. It's just a game of make believe.
It's a boring game. I'm thinking I might end the game. There doesn't seem to be any reward to playing. Just existence in a world of the dead and dying.
My neighbor may be able to get a gun for me. I will take my dog and go to the lake country and kill us both there.

No, please no... Don't do that. :(
I'm not sure why I posted that here and not in the Haven.
Maybe because I'm sick of hearing how autistic woman have it easier. How can anyone venture to say that they understand the experience another, and so much so that they can discount it.
This site is so male centric these days, I'm thinking of making myself scarce. Even the mods are supporting the neurotic sexism of the men in L&D.