Ladies with ASDs

[Tigris]

 

[Geordie]

Although women and men have the same incidence of having autism, because of societal expectations and parents' nurturing up to these expectations --- men and women with ASDs have different behavior when they eventually mature.

 

[Tigris]

Dun forget guys and girls think in different ways also. That can also account to the reason why many girls are undiagnosed as kids and teens.

 

[Geordie]

I thought thoughts are shaped by the environment... though the different body and thought processes develop different in males and females.

 

[whale_bone]

ohhh nice links. I want to read her book! She was spot on with the party example too.
the differences between men and women's thinking styles is largely due to how they are socialized. The male brain vs female brain stuff is a huge exaggeration and is biased towards the gender expectations of the place where the research comes from (US, UK, Australia, etc). Obviously we get different hormones at puberty, which does affect behaviour, but it doesn't explain the differences that emerge from childhood.

 

[Kempy]

I only know one female aspie. Unfortunately, she has a reputation of not being very lady-like.

 

[Geordie]

I only know one female aspie. Unfortunately, she has a reputation of not being very lady-like.

So does the only female Aspie I know too!

 

[Kempy]

The male aspies I know generally aren't very manly either. Most of us seem to act similar regardless of our gender. This is a generalization from the few people I know so I may be wrong.

 

[whale_bone]

Yeah you're probably right. I have some 'girly' interests like pretty dresses and I am pretty shy, but really I would never be considered girly by NT standards. Why? because girls have incredibly complex social lives that require a competence that is totally beyond me. Hanging out with guys and being a bit of a tomboy is less demanding and much more enjoyable. And they don't mince words or employ the subtle manipulations as much as girls, which I really appreciate.

 

[Tigris]

Although women and men have the same incidence of having autism, because of societal expectations and parents' nurturing up to these expectations --- men and women with ASDs have different behavior when they eventually mature.

 

[whale_bone]

Gym class was the worst!!! And i was much less outgoing than this girl, more "mousy" . It might be because my mom ran a home daycare when I was little so I learned play scripts pretty young/ was terrified of upsetting anyone. I was lucky, a few times throughout my childhood some girl would come along and "take me under her wing" and show me how to do stuff, speak up for me, tell me what i had to do to play the game etc. When I didn't have a friend like that I'd just spend recess playing by myself, looking for things to collect like feathers, and bottle caps. In class I never participated unless i had to and I just tried to watch everyone else and copy what they were doing. Most of the time I finished my work early and sat in a corner and read. haha sometimes when it got too noisy and chaotic i would ask to go to the washroom but then sneak off and find someplace quiet to read instead.

 

[Pinky]

i'm a girl
i think the boys being more likely to have it is becoming a bit of a myth now.
no offence boys but i think there should be a group just for girls with autism

 

[whale_bone]

YEAH! I think that would be cool. Aspergirlssss. haha

 

[katcha]

Although I agree girls are underdiagnosed with Autism, partly due to girls being stereotypically being seen as shy i'd disagree the incidence rates are the same.

Guys naturally have more abnormal brain behaviour than girls, because testosterone inhibits the development of the left-hand side of the brain during development. That's all that autism is as well, extreme abnormal brain development, so you can see that guys are one step along from girls.

I don't think guys and girls with autism are that much different. I just think the society views the sexes in vastly different ways and this creates a bias in how we view the situation. My girlfriend is autistic as well as me and although we are both shy and not very social, she is a lot more shy and a lot less social.

 

[Droopy]

no offence boys but i think there should be a group just for girls with autism

That can be done. Go here. Unless of course you are talking about a sub-forum which can also be done once we grow a bit.

 

[whale_bone]

Another theory is that because girls have 2 X chromosomes , they are more likely to compensate for mutations with the other X chromosome.

 

[katcha]

Another theory is that because girls have 2 X chromosomes , they are more likely to compensate for mutations with the other X chromosome.

Yeah, I've read that one too and I think it's more than likely correct.

Interestingly, in some disorders the opposite is seen. Rett disorder for example, only girls can have that, guys are not viable unless they have XXY. Which means that Rett is skewed towards girls.

 

[Tigris]

But all of us agree that social bias against either guys or girls led to under diagnosis of many ladies right?

Even though the chromosones play a part, autism is not a disorder like Rett disorder. Besides there are women who's autism is as severe as those of males.

Like say Miss Temple Grandin.

 

[Geordie]

Yup --- I know two female Aspies on a personal basis too.

 

[Squirtle]

I've noticed how aspie girls are different than aspie boys. Girls tend to be more social, they talk more, they are more emotional, their obsessions isn't with objects, it's with subjects instead, they aren't as geeky and nerdy because they are less likely to be into math and science and they tend to have more of a imagination so they are more likely to do pretend play and they tend to be more clean so they will tend to shower and wear clean clothes.

I also read that women with AS tend to get married young and have kids young. AS is easier on women.

I'm female and I have mainly the "boy version". The only "girlie aspieish" things about me is that my obsessions can be both objects and subjects and that I'm quite emotional.

It's important to include possible differences between genders to diagnose everyone, but one mustn't be blind and forget that there are huge individual differences.