For decades, research and diagnostic criteria for autism has been predominantly built around the male profile. This has resulted in women and girls being misdiagnosed, misrepresented or left to understand their symptoms on their own. In reality, autism can present differently in girls and women. Girls and women also tend to have developed ways of hiding their symptoms.
Why young girls tend to go undiagnosed?
From a young age, girls are socialised to observe, imitate and adapt to those around them. For autistic girls, this can develop into girls masking their symptoms, where they may consciously or unconsciously mimic the social behaviour of others around them in order to fit in. They may study how role models around them interact, dress, rehearse conversations and suppress traits that might draw attention.
Due to their symptoms being less visible, autistic girls tend to be overlooked by teachers, parents and clinicians. Instead of receiving an autism assessment or diagnosis they may be told they are:
- Shy or introverted
- Mature for their age
- Anxious or oversensitive
What masking looks like
Masking if often an automatic social camouflaging response. It can develop over years of observing others and learning potential negative effects of certain behaviours.
It can include:
- Mirroring: copying mannerisms of those around you
- People-pleasing: going along with social situations that feel overwhelming to avoid standing out
- Performing emotion: displaying the expected emotional response even when they don’t feel natural
Continuous masking can become exhausting, and many autistic women have described feeling a sense of not knowing who they really are when they no longer have to mask.
Impact of a late or missed diagnosis
When autism goes undiagnosed, girls and women are often left without an explanation for experiences that have shaped their entire lives.
Late diagnosis can provide relief for people who find themselves with more answers for their lifelong experiences. It can support less self-blame and greater self-compassion. Diagnosis also allows individuals to access support within their workplace or education.
Supporting autistic girls and women
- Challenge assumptions and biases about how autism is ‘meant’ to look
- Take self-reporting seriously, women and girls with autism often have significant insight into their own experience
- Ensure that safe spaces are created where there is no expectation to mask
