MASTERPOST: Research on Autism in Women & Girls

MASTERPOST: Research on Autism in Women & Girls

Posted by A on 9:03 AM in autism, girls, women,

On the Gender Difference in Autism Research

• Count us in: Addressing gender disparities in autism research (2015)
• Towards sex- and gender-informed autism research (2017)

Neuroscience

• Women with autistic-spectrum disorder: magnetic resonance imaging study of brain anatomy (2007)
• Sex Differences Along the Autism Continuum: A Twin Study of Brain Structure (2019)

Understanding the Autistic Female Phenotype

* Not all females will fit these descriptions, and not everyone who fits these descriptions will be female.

• Under-identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Females: A Case Series Illustrating the Unique Presentation of this Disorder in Young Women (2014)
• Gender Differences and Similarities: Autism Symptomatology and Developmental Functioning in Young Children (2018)
• Self-reported sex differences in high-functioning adults with autism: a meta-analysis (2018)
• Sex differences in restricted repetitive behaviors and interests in children with autism spectrum disorder: An Autism Treatment Network study (2018)
• What About the Girls? Sex-Based Differences in Autistic Traits and Adaptive Skills (2018)
• Exploring the female autism phenotype of repetitive behaviours and restricted interests (RBRIs): a systematic PRISMA review (2019)
• Girls and women with autism (2019)
• Linguistic markers of autism in girls: evidence of a “blended phenotype” during storytelling (2019)
• Understanding and recognising the female phenotype of autism spectrum disorder and the “camouflage” hypothesis: a systematic PRISMA review (2019)

Diagnosis & Girls and Women

• Missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis? Girls and women on the autism spectrum (2011)
• How Different Are Girls and Boys Above and Below the Diagnostic Threshold for Autism Spectrum Disorders? (2012)
• Factors influencing the probability of a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in girls versus boys (2017)
• Protective effect or missed diagnosis? Females with autism spectrum disorder (2017)
• Towards understanding the under-recognition of girls and women on the autism spectrum (2017)
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) scores in males and females diagnosed with autism: a naturalistic study (2018)
• Assessing autism in females: The importance of a sex-specific comparison (2019)
• Sex Differences in an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis: Are Restricted Repetitive Behaviors and Interests the Key? (2019)
• Women and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Diagnosis and Implications for Treatment of Adolescents and Adults (2019)

The Experience of Autistic Girls & Women

• The Effects of Menarche upon the Sensory Features of Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder (2018)
• A Qualitative Exploration of the Female Experience of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (2019)
• The school experiences of autistic girls and adolescents: a systematic review (2019)

The Experience of Late-Diagnosed Autistic Women

• The Experiences of Late-diagnosed Women with Autism Spectrum Conditions: An Investigation of the Female Autism Phenotype (2016)
• Journey to diagnosis for women with autism (2019)
• ‘I was exhausted trying to figure it out’: The experiences of females receiving an autism diagnosis in middle to late adulthood (2019)

Last updated: 11/2019

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MASTERPOST: Autistic Women & Girls

MASTERPOST: Autistic Women & Girls

Posted by A on 12:16 PM in autism, girls, masterposts, women,

Here is a compilation of links talking about autistic women & girls, especially relating to getting diagnosed or being undiagnosed, as well as how autism can present in some women. However not all autistic women and girls fit the descriptions in these articles, and plenty of boys/men and non-binary/gender-non-conforming people do. None of this is exclusive to girls/women or required of them!

These links may also include some problematic language (ableism, gender binarism, functioning labels, etc) and ideas (though I try to avoid the ones that are especially so). Sharing these links does not necessarily mean I agree with/approve of all the ideas (or language) therein. However I think a lot of these links can be useful for some people, so I am sharing them along with this warning. Also, I would LOVE to compile a list like this for non-binary and gender non-conforming people, so please send me any links on that subject you know of!

A masterpost featuring (select) peer-reviewed research on women & girls coming soon!

Common Traits & Experiences

• Asperger and Autism Spectrum: Women and Girls (AANE)
• Autism—It's Different in Girls (Scientific American, 2016)
• Different for girls: understanding autism (The Guardian, 2019)
• How Autism in Women Is Different: Unique ASD Symptoms, Risks (ADDitude, 2019)

Diagnosing Autism in Women & Girls

• Are Girls With Autism Hiding in Plain Sight? (Spark)
• Differences in Diagnosing Autism in Girls and Boys (Verywell Health, 2019)
• Misdiagnosis Is All Too Common for Women with Autism (Psychology Today, 2019)
• Thousands of autistic girls and women 'going undiagnosed' due to gender bias (The Guardian, 2018)
• To get an autism diagnosis, girls need worse social skills than boys (Spectrum, 2018)
• Women 'better than men at disguising autism symptoms' (The Guardian, 2019)
• "You're Just Kooky": Why Women With Autism Aren't Taken Seriously (Refinery 29, 2019)

Articles Featuring Late Diagnosis Stories

• ‘I Thought I Was Lazy’: The Invisible Struggle For Autistic Women (The Conversation, 2017)
• The women who don’t know they’re autistic (The Conversation, 2017)
• Women my age weren’t called ‘autistic’ growing up. We were awkward or ‘rude.’ And we missed out on services. (Public Source, 2019)

Books

I've not read these so I can't speak to how good any of them are, please leave a comment if you've read any of them!

• Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum - Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum (2018)
• Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women - Sarah Bargiela (Author) & Sophie Standing (Illustrator)
• Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives - Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happé, Jo Egerton (2019)
• Life on the Autism Spectrum - A Guide for Girls and Women - Karen McKibbin (Forward by Tony Attwood) (2015)
• Spectrum Women - Editors: Barb Cook & Dr Michelle Garnett (2018)
• What Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew - Editors: Emily Paige Ballou, Kristina Thomas & Sharon daVanport (2017)
• Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding Life Experiences from Early Childhood to Old Age - Sarah Hendrickx (Forward by Judith Gould) (2015)

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