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Is it mainly a boy thing?

Coxhere

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member

Is it mainly a boy thing?​

Although Austrian paediatrician Hans Asperger thought it only affected boys when he first described the syndrome back in 1944, research since has found that there are likely to be a similar number of females on the spectrum.

The National Autistic Society says that because of the male gender bias, girls are less likely to be identified with autism spectrum disorders, even when their symptoms are equally severe. Many girls are never referred for diagnosis and are missed from the statistics altogether.

People of both genders on the spectrum at a National Autistic Society event say that Asperger's affects females in a slightly different way. Girls will have special interests but instead of building up an incredible wealth of knowledge on subjects like trains or dinosaurs - like boys with Asperger's might - they tend to like the same things as neurotypical girls their age, albeit in a more focused way.

For example, a young girl with Asperger's might make it her business to collect all of the outfits that Barbie has ever worn.

Women and girls can find it easier to mask their difficulties, making the condition harder to recognise. It might only become obvious at around age 11, when the pressure to be the same as friends gets too much.

Some girls with Asperger's will manage to keep their difficulties under wraps at school, but might have "meltdowns" at home, where they feel safe to relax and release the feelings that they have been squashing down all day.

Female Aspies, do you agree with this article?
 
No. I am unsure if I meet the criteria or not due to certain features being missing but I definitely have some pretty strong aspie traits and special interests are one of them. I would not say that mine parallels with interests common to other girls. In fact, I don't know too many other girls that crawled around "sciencing" insects, plant parts, ECT. I don't know many that did air and water pressure experiments either. I might have had a few that overlaped with other girls, but over all other girls thought my interests were weird and I thought theirs were boring.
 
A lot of people believe in those old stereotypes, some to the point that they try to emulate those stereotypes. They tend to be very shallow and superficial people with no real substance though. When I was "in the market" so to speak I found real girly girls a big turn off.

I wouldn't say girls are "better" at masking and fitting in but they do have a stronger drive to do so than the average man. They are rarely undiagnosed but quite often misdiagnosed, and I think a part of that will be more because many doctors believe stereotypes rather than girls living them. With boys autism is often the very first path they look at, when it comes to diagnosing girls they tend to look at absolutely everything on the list first before finally looking at autism.
 
No. I am unsure if I meet the criteria or not due to certain features being missing but I definitely have some pretty strong aspie traits and special interests are one of them. I would not say that mine parallels with interests common to other girls. In fact, I don't know too many other girls that crawled around "sciencing" insects, plant parts, ECT. I don't know many that did air and water pressure experiments either. I might have had a few that overlaped with other girls, but over all other girls thought my interests were weird and I thought theirs were boring.
The article said something about girl Aspies possibly collecting all of the clothes and accessories that Barbie doll ever had. Made me remember that many Gay men would collect all the Barbie and Ken dolls on the market plus all their clothes and accessories. I had no interest in such things although I'm, otherwise, similar to them in that I, too, am Gay.
 
No. I am unsure if I meet the criteria or not due to certain features being missing but I definitely have some pretty strong aspie traits and special interests are one of them. I would not say that mine parallels with interests common to other girls. In fact, I don't know too many other girls that crawled around "sciencing" insects, plant parts, ECT. I don't know many that did air and water pressure experiments either. I might have had a few that overlaped with other girls, but over all other girls thought my interests were weird and I thought theirs were boring.
I am happy that my spouse is unconventional. She likes to MacGyver anything and even has me rebuilding furniture per her specs. And she loves nature. On one of our first camping trips we came across an Eastern Hog Nosed Snake and without batting an eye she picked it up as it made false strikes and played dead. In the Smoky Mountains she enjoyed it as I shared salamanders I was finding. After that I knew she was a keeper.
 
Not all girls like playing dollies and dress ups.

Yeah. Same in the U.S. American females have football games, softball games, basketball games, and other sports. I don't know about in Ecuador. I imagine that gender roles are still fairly traditional here. The females don't like it that they don't make as much money as male sports stars bring in but there just aren't all that many fans interested in women's sports as in men's. Females are making inroads, however, with getting more equity-based funding for university sports. On the other hand there are men, both str8 and Gay, who like dressing up in female attire.
 
I am happy that my spouse is unconventional. She likes to MacGyver anything and even has me rebuilding furniture per her specs. And she loves nature. On one of our first camping trips we came across an Eastern Hog Nosed Snake and without batting an eye she picked it up as it made false strikes and played dead. In the Smoky Mountains she enjoyed it as I shared salamanders I was finding. After that I knew she was a keeper.
Nice comment, Gerald.
 
A lot of people believe in those old stereotypes, some to the point that they try to emulate those stereotypes. They tend to be very shallow and superficial people with no real substance though. When I was "in the market" so to speak I found real girly girls a big turn off.

I wouldn't say girls are "better" at masking and fitting in but they do have a stronger drive to do so than the average man. They are rarely undiagnosed but quite often misdiagnosed, and I think a part of that will be more because many doctors believe stereotypes rather than girls living them. With boys autism is often the very first path they look at, when it comes to diagnosing girls they tend to look at absolutely everything on the list first before finally looking at autism.
Your using the word, "stereotypes," Outdated, reminds me of stereotypes with Gay men. Many curious, wondering, adolescents and young men are confused because they wonder if they're Gay. They know that they don't fit the stereotypes of Gay men. They're not interested in fixing women's hair nor their clothes, they're not interested in Ru Paul, they don't like flower arranging, and (like me) they're not interested in Barbie and Ken dolls.
 
with getting more equity-based funding for university sports.
In Australia all of our sports clubs are individual entities not affiliated with schools or religious organisations. We don't have "college football".

The females don't like it that they don't make as much money as male sports stars bring in but there just aren't all that many fans interested in women's sports as in men's.
Because our sports clubs are independent and raise their own funds this was also a problem in Australia. Our national women's football league only really took off in 2017 and something really surprising happened.

The women's league often gets higher TV ratings than the men's league now even though the men's league has been around since 1858. Ratings means sponsorships and money. They're still not earning as much as the men but they're also not doing as badly as was first expected.

Yes, Aussie Rules is the oldest codified football game in the world, it predates everything except cricket and tennis.
 
Not all girls like playing dollies and dress ups.

I wasn't into sports much. Watching it bored me and I had trouble with physically doing things like that. I was better at galloping if I wanted to go faster. My running has a weird gait to it and I get out of breath easily. I have a heart mummer too.
 
I wasn't into sports much. Watching it bored me and I had trouble with physically doing things like that. I was better at galloping if I wanted to go faster. My running has a weird gait to it and I get out of breath easily. I have a heart mummer too.
None of the kids in my family were in to sports, always very active and doing something but rarely playing team games. My sister preferred playing in the boys room with our Mechano sets and things like that rather than a lot of her own toys.

Mind you. she was OCD and always kept her own room immaculate, I think she avoided being in there in case it got untidy. :)
 
In Australia all of our sports clubs are individual entities not affiliated with schools or religious organisations. We don't have "college football".


Because our sports clubs are independent and raise their own funds this was also a problem in Australia. Our national women's football league only really took off in 2017 and something really surprising happened.

The women's league often gets higher TV ratings than the men's league now even though the men's league has been around since 1858. Ratings means sponsorships and money. They're still not earning as much as the men but they're also not doing as badly as was first expected.

Yes, Aussie Rules is the oldest codified football game in the world, it predates everything except cricket and tennis.
I searched to find out if American football or fútbol is older.
Here's what I found:
  • Soccer's Origins:
    Games resembling soccer have been played for thousands of years in various cultures. The modern version, called association football, was codified in England in 1863.

  • American Football's Origins:
    American football evolved in the United States in the late 19th century, drawing heavily from rugby and soccer. The first intercollegiate game, considered a precursor to American football, was played in 1869.

    And regarding university games. I LOVE NCAA football. I LOVE the tailgating that goes on before the kickoffs. I LOVE the university mascots. I LOVE the college age fans in the grandstands where they're up to all kinds of youngster antics. They paint their faces and pass each other over the heads of other fans. I LOVE to watch the NCAA fans "do the wave." I don't see this kind of enthusiasm in the professional, National Football League so much, although I like NFL games too.
 
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I wasn't into sports much. Watching it bored me and I had trouble with physically doing things like that. I was better at galloping if I wanted to go faster. My running has a weird gait to it and I get out of breath easily. I have a heart mummer too.
Interesting, FayetheAspie. Gay men aren't as much into contact sports, such as football and baseball, as we are individual sports such as tennis, track and field, and gymnastic sports.
 
I searched to find out with American football or futból is older.
Aussie Rules football was originally created as a way to keep our cricketers fit during the off season, cricket's a summer game. There was always intense cricket rivalry between England and Australia. And that's why Aussie Rules is played on a huge cricket oval. Each team has 18 players on the field plus 4 interchanges on the bench.
 
I liked doing science experiments, following around insects, getting to see different types of animals, figuring out how things worked, watching science lectures, reading, watching certain series, and role playing the characters on certain series, learning languages, and I did actually play with dolls and plush animals too. I did have some sports like things that I did too such as bicycle riding, hiking, and balance tricks( I still hope to learn tight rope eventually and perhaps even incorporate some of my other balance tricks into a tight rope routine. I think it would be neat to learn parkour. I also love airplanes. Another thing I like is balloons. I got a bit of a sentimental attachment to balloons after my Dad sliced a blue one that I had when I was little. I was bouncing it to the beat of some music he had on so he sliced my balloon and said that it was controlling me and he was rescuing me from it or something to that effect. I also love to solve puzzles and crack codes in puzzle books as well as coming up with my own original riddles. Having tea time of a day is a tradition that it stresses me if I miss. I love to share information that I have learned or to demonstrate a skill. My natural baseline when nothing is wrong and I am healthy is a bit hyperthymic leaning. I am curious, upbeat and laugh frequently. I love to get others to laugh as well. Sometimes though my other emotions come out as laughter as well which is then weird rather than fun. I also like to daydream up fictional stories and used to write some down. I'm sure I'm leaving something out but I will end the list here for now.
 
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My sister was always very social and off playing with friends where as I only had one friend as a child, a girl. I just didn't fit in with most people. I was the science nerd. :)
 
My sister was always very social and off playing with friends where as I only had one friend as a child, a girl. I just didn't fit in with most people. I was the science nerd. :)
I was social and playing with other kids when I could find any that would play with me while simultaneously being a science nerd that they got tired of listening to.😅
 
Aussie Rules football was originally created as a way to keep our cricketers fit during the off season, cricket's a summer game. There was always intense cricket rivalry between England and Australia. And that's why Aussie Rules is played on a huge cricket oval. Each team has 18 players on the field plus 4 interchanges on the bench.
I specialized in learning about group therapy in grad school. I remember learning that an optimum group is about ten people. Most of my career, clinical work was with groups of people, ten or fewer per group. Each team having EIGHTEEN players is remarkable. I don't know how a fan could watch all that many people per team in any kind of game, let alone officials who make sure all the rules are kept. What are "interchanges?" I know absolutely nothing about cricket but the name sounds so dainty, although I know it's not. I once read a Gay novel where the main character was a star cricket player and the fans' hero. Don't remember the plot now, but I'm sure that this star-hero was "outed" some way or other and the story then had to do with how fans either accepted or didn't accept him, being a Gay star-hero.
 

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