Autism and Gender
Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized26 Aug 2013
The ratio of boys to girls diagnosed with autism is around four to one.
- Is that really true?
- Is research biased to diagnose boys and overlook girls?
- Are girls able to camouflage the signs of autism?
Research found that:
- male and female brains are different anyway, male’s brain has more tissue volume
- girls with the condition could be more stigmatised
- it could be harder for girls to get diagnosed
- research focuses more on boys
MRI screening showed the following:
- female’s brain with autism is closer to the male’s brain versus female without the condition
- however, male’s brain with autism didn’t show that much of a difference
- available information is male-biased
- the way autism could manifested is different in males and females
- therefore, what applies for males doesn’t necessarily apply for females
- studying autism in females should get more attention
- girls adapt easier to the condition which could be the reason behind masking the condition
- girls could show signs of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders as a price for masking their condition
Read the article in details here.
nadia shanab
Tags: autism, diagnosis, female brain, health, male brain, research, signs
