I couldn't hardly keep a friend past a week, but that didn't keep me from seeking out new friends/students/audience/actors for the other roles in the stories I wanted to act out.
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Is it mainly a boy thing?
- Thread starter Coxhere
- Start date
When pre-school age, I had a couple of "friends" who'd hang around because I had a fairly good imagination and could make up, make-believe stories that they liked to hear. In elementary school, I had no friends to speak of because I wasn't interested in having any. In high school, I had a couple of friends but, because I was often argumentative and didn't know how to get along much with others, one of these friends dropped me. And for me, this was rather devastating.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.
Ditto for me too, Outdated!
Luckily for me, we are beyond the days where "girls don't have autism," and now it seems to be a game of catch up as far as information and understanding goes.
My argument concerning what is stated in the original post is that girls/women are not the only ones affected by the narrow description of autism and the limited understanding of the diversity of autistic presentations. What is described in the OP occurs with some women and some men and those men also go under diagnosed and misdiagnosed. General stereotypes for men have excluded many men who demonstrate a non-conventional iteration of masculinity.
I think that the problem is not strictly with a gender divide but with a far too specific set of criteria that has been used to identify and diagnose autism for decades. Places where autistic people gather in great numbers, like right here on the forums, show the variety of autistic presentations and affirm just how shallow the wider society's understanding is (including the medical and mental health fields). I think we demonstrate the value of having a peer-to-peer information-sharing community of people with autism. We are the people that actually represent just what autism "looks like," and we can see the myriad differences among us despite our many shared experiences.
My argument concerning what is stated in the original post is that girls/women are not the only ones affected by the narrow description of autism and the limited understanding of the diversity of autistic presentations. What is described in the OP occurs with some women and some men and those men also go under diagnosed and misdiagnosed. General stereotypes for men have excluded many men who demonstrate a non-conventional iteration of masculinity.
I think that the problem is not strictly with a gender divide but with a far too specific set of criteria that has been used to identify and diagnose autism for decades. Places where autistic people gather in great numbers, like right here on the forums, show the variety of autistic presentations and affirm just how shallow the wider society's understanding is (including the medical and mental health fields). I think we demonstrate the value of having a peer-to-peer information-sharing community of people with autism. We are the people that actually represent just what autism "looks like," and we can see the myriad differences among us despite our many shared experiences.
Sometimes it is really hard to tell if you are or not when you know for a fact that you have several pretty strong traits yet some portions of the diagnostic criteria in the DSM 5 just don't seem to resonate with you as they are worded in there.
The DSM V, and all the previous editions, have their limits. We are complex humans, afterall, and sometimes the way we are just doesn't fit into a neat and concise description. The simple fact that the DSM is consistently updated shows that what is in there is neither finite nor absolute. I know that there can be comfort in surety and black and white things, but sometimes, we just have to live in the gray.Sometimes it is really hard to tell if you are or not when you know for a fact that you have several pretty strong traits yet some portions of the diagnostic criteria in the DSM 5 just don't seem to resonate with you as they are worded in there.
I wouldn't discourage you from continuing to figure out what you think about yourself and whether or not you are autistic, though. Self discovery has great value and I hope you find answers that make sense to you. I've had a somewhat opposite experience to yours - autism was never a remote consideration when I was young, but in my 40s, it became undeniable. For me, the word and the symptoms behind it fit so well, but I learned about all that here from other autistic folk before I turned to the DSM-5.
It's because of folks like you, Rodafina, that I am learning so much from being a member of Aspies Central. It's why I now spend quite a bit of my time here. Learning is experiencing life for me. I am EXPERIENCING. And experiencing and learning is what I know I'll do until there's no longer any more life in me.
Likewise, friend.
Thank you.
Part of what us fascinating about the field of autism research is how fast it has grown, to the point that even stuff written a decade ago would now require some footnotes.
If I may add some additional context...
Kanner's original descriptions of autism were basically all drawn from upper class white boys.
This is a classical issue in the medical and psycological fields - where the original/reference study was drawn from a limited subset of the population. This leads to a self-perpetuating situation where other presentations of a condition are missed and underreported, skewing the stats on prevalence rates which may result in a specialist preemptively ruling it out as unlikely (and increasing the risk of misdiagnosis).
Few folks have diagnoses from the 1980s or earlier due to limited knowledge of autism, even among doctors and psycologists, and it's only in the 1990s that we see more diagnosis.
In the 2000s and into the early 2010s, we see a lot of literature (like that in the OP) highlighting how autism may present differently in women vs in men.
By the late 2010s, this has fallen out as it is noticed that there are men who better fit the description of female autism, and vice versa. The recogition is that those who are gender non conforming can exhibit signs differently.
In the US in particular, there's also research into how autism awareness and support is lacking in black (African American) and brown (Hispanic) communities.
Today, we recognize that all intersectionalities impact presentation, diagnosis access, barriers, and supports.
In the Asian and First Nations / Indigenous / Amerindian communities, awareness, research, and supports continue to be scarce.
Additionally, those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those in rural areas also face significant barriers, especially in accessing supports.
Excellent post, VictorR. When I search for information, I always begin with the articles that are most recently written.
It makes for a very fast paced game.
If a player on the field gets exhausted they can change places with one of the players on the bench. It's a rough sport though, more often than not the interchanges are used to replace injured players. Injuries generally don't halt play, the injured man gets dragged off the field by medics and their replacement runs out to join the game.
Cricket was an English Gentleman's game and it became very popular throughout the Commonwealth countries.
How Popular is Cricket Around the World? [STATISTICS]
Getting back to the original post:
1. We know that the presentation of autism is primarily affected by the degree of "genetic loading". Unlike many other genetic conditions where there may be one gene responsible, in autism, there are what we call "genetic markers", over 100 familial and over 1000 epigenetic markers on the human genome. How many of these markers are activated will determine the autism variant one has.
2. Where this "male vs female" autism comparison comes from is (1) females will often have to exhibit a significantly higher genetic load than their male counterparts in order to be diagnosed. In other words, males, for whatever reason, are far more sensitive to this genetic loading. As such, tend to be recognized and diagnosed, at least historically, at a much higher frequency than females. (2) Since the more recognized forms of autism were exhibited by males, there was a bias in the literature and eventually DSM towards a male diagnosis. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that the leading researchers in the field of autism recognized it as a form of "the extreme male brain". Obviously, over the years, we've become more "tuned in" to how the female brain exhibits autism and finally, females are being diagnosed with ASDs rather than misdiagnosed with some other condition (and tragically medicated for that other condition). The female brain (structurally and functionally) can be distinguished from a male brain (at the extremes) with females often having much better conductivity and connectivity between the hemispheres of the brain, as well as the frontal cortex. This often translates into better communication and social skills than males (on average), and less likely to be diagnosed with an ASD.
3. Another point I want to make here is that when the literature speaks of "male vs female" brains, we are talking about the extremes at either end of the bell curve of statistical analysis. There may be 60% overlap in some cases where diagnostic functional and anatomical imaging of all sorts might not be able to distinguish between a male or female brain (assuming the researcher is blinded), but on the other hand, say, that 10-20% on either end of those curves will be "extremely" male or female.
How an ASD presents itself is highly individualized, regardless of XX or XY.
1. We know that the presentation of autism is primarily affected by the degree of "genetic loading". Unlike many other genetic conditions where there may be one gene responsible, in autism, there are what we call "genetic markers", over 100 familial and over 1000 epigenetic markers on the human genome. How many of these markers are activated will determine the autism variant one has.
2. Where this "male vs female" autism comparison comes from is (1) females will often have to exhibit a significantly higher genetic load than their male counterparts in order to be diagnosed. In other words, males, for whatever reason, are far more sensitive to this genetic loading. As such, tend to be recognized and diagnosed, at least historically, at a much higher frequency than females. (2) Since the more recognized forms of autism were exhibited by males, there was a bias in the literature and eventually DSM towards a male diagnosis. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that the leading researchers in the field of autism recognized it as a form of "the extreme male brain". Obviously, over the years, we've become more "tuned in" to how the female brain exhibits autism and finally, females are being diagnosed with ASDs rather than misdiagnosed with some other condition (and tragically medicated for that other condition). The female brain (structurally and functionally) can be distinguished from a male brain (at the extremes) with females often having much better conductivity and connectivity between the hemispheres of the brain, as well as the frontal cortex. This often translates into better communication and social skills than males (on average), and less likely to be diagnosed with an ASD.
3. Another point I want to make here is that when the literature speaks of "male vs female" brains, we are talking about the extremes at either end of the bell curve of statistical analysis. There may be 60% overlap in some cases where diagnostic functional and anatomical imaging of all sorts might not be able to distinguish between a male or female brain (assuming the researcher is blinded), but on the other hand, say, that 10-20% on either end of those curves will be "extremely" male or female.
How an ASD presents itself is highly individualized, regardless of XX or XY.
When my mother passed, my dad moved to a place closer to my sister, she kept an eye on him and my brother.
That is the one difference between the sexes Aspie or not that can not be ignored.
That is the one difference between the sexes Aspie or not that can not be ignored.
Just in general, yes, l save my meltdowns for my home. I can let loose emotionally, clear those feelings out. Yes, l am always collecting things, like a particular brand of purse, a particular style of coffee, etc. I don't really feel l need many friends, but l am generally close to the ones l have. So perhaps l still fit the stereotypes.
I did a search regarding Cricket. I wondered where the name, "Cricket," came from. I found this: The name "Cricket" likely originates from the Old French word "criquet," meaning a kind of stick or a club.
I also did a search regarding the time the game of Cricket started. One source said it was the 16th century, CE and another, the 15th century, CE.
And then I wondered why Cricket never "took off" in popularity in the U.S. The word Cricket reminds me of the wise, little cricket who helped guide Pinocchio in the Walt Disney classic movie. I imagine that other Americans also think of Jiminy when they hear of the name of the sport, "Cricket."
While searching around for Cricket, I saw one article that said a Cricket team consists of eleven members. Do I assume correctly that Cricket teams vary in size depending on what level the teams are in? Or the various countries?
Because Cricket and Lacrosse are both sports that involve bats/sticks and balls, I wondered if the games are similar. However, here's what I found: "While both cricket and lacrosse are team sports involving bats/sticks and balls, they are quite different in terms of gameplay, rules, and overall structure. Lacrosse is a fast-paced, dynamic game focused on ball movement and scoring in a net, while cricket is a more strategic game centered on batting, bowling, and scoring runs within a defined innings structure."
Attachments
I remember Australian Rules from when I was down there. Took me a while to figure out the rules from just watching. The main difference I can see is that the men are aggressive, the women are feisty. There is a difference.
Watching the video with Adelaide winning overwhelmingly, I looked up the definition of "feisty." The dictionary said, "touchy and aggressive." I agree!
In a way they're sort of exact opposites. Lacrosse is more like hockey with team goals at either end of a rectangular field. In Lacrosse the ball can be held in the small net on the stick and the player can run with it a bit like players do in Rugby or American Gridiron.
In cricket one team bats while the other fields a little like in Baseball. The batters are defending the wicket (3 sticks) from bowlers in the centre of the field. There's two sets of wickets at either end of a special pitch in the centre of the field, this pitch is kept much firmer and flatter than the rest of the grass to allow for better control over the bounce of the ball by bowlers.
Batters make runs if they're able by running back and forth between the two sets of wickets 66 feet apart. If fielders manage to strike the wicket with the ball while a player is still outside the wicket area then that batter is out. Get all 11 batters out and then it's time to change sides and the other team bats.
I've had a wee bit to drink and am therefore unable to focus as much as when completely sober. I didn't really understand. Sorry.
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