This Autism Awareness Week, the Metro looks at the sexism inherent within autism research and diagnoses.
According to the National Autistic Society the most up-to-date ratio of boys being diagnosed to girls is 3:1 - up from 8:1 in 1995. The progress points to a gender bias that is slowly being corrected.
It is thought that women may be more adept at ‘camouflaging’ symptoms. In other words, there is more pressure on women to conform, and to present in a more socially acceptable way. The symptoms that present in women and girls therefore are often overlooked, as they do not match up with the male indicators of Autism.
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