Alright, let's talk about autism and women and the challenges and
barriers to diagnosis. So as a starting point, autism is a neurodevelopmental condition. In general terms, autism
presents with challenges in social interaction and communication and restrictive and repetitive
behaviors and interests. However, not all autistic
people fit the stereotype of what autism is as portrayed
by characters in the media or as held by members of
society, the wider community. In fact some autistic
women may have developed high masking skills in order to hide their differences and blend in with their
neurotypical peers. Before we get to some signs on how you can spot a high
masking autistic woman, I wanna start tackling probably
the meatiest most important part of this whole video,
which is really delving into the known and the requiring
more exploration barriers to diagnosis for autistic women. What's interesting is
really the core traits for autism are the same for men and women. However, it seems one of
the biggest challenges in diagnosing autistic women
is that we're still operating under a diagnostic model that
was designed to diagnose boys or men at best. In other words, a diagnostic
model based on the observations of diagnosing boys with autism. Now, this means that the
signs and symptoms of autism may actually present differently for autistic women and
therefore potentially be completely overlooked
during the diagnostic criteria. So let's talk about
some of the main reasons why autism may be underdiagnosed in women and I guess highlight
some of the key barriers, some of the key challenges to
diagnosis for autistic women. Let's start off with a really key one. Social masking. Many autistic women have
developed high masking skills. Why? Well, to simply blend in with
their neurotypical peers. Further to that, it's been found that autistic women have higher levels of social motivation
compared to autistic men and this can contribute to
their social masking skills. What's social motivation? Is that what you're saying? Ease up turbo, no worries! In general terms, social
motivation is the drive, the desire to interact with others to form social connections. And obviously while social
motivation is typically lower in autistic people, some researchers found that social motivation
levels seem to be higher in autistic women
compared to autistic men. So it's possible that autistic
women have a higher drive or desire to interact with others or to form social connections
than autistic men would which clearly contributes to their higher social masking skills, potentially autistic women
maybe more motivated to learn and mimic social behaviors
to fit in with their peers. Adding to this barrier to diagnosis for high masking autistic women, some studies have found that
autistic women are also better at interpreting and recognizing
emotional expressions and this is despite having
similar difficulties with social interaction and communication. It's fascinating. It has been suggested and we are gonna get to
gender in just a second but it has been suggested that
potentially autistic women may be more likely to receive
social training or cues from parents, peers, friends
that also contribute to them developing these social skills. Let's move on to the next big challenge to diagnosis for autistic women. Gender stereotypes. I think it's relatively accepted by now that there is this gender stereotype that autism is a male condition. Now as a result of this wrong, this outdated stereotype, some clinicians depending on the care factor
in educating themselves, understanding the movements and advances in how we diagnose autism
and in autism in general, they simply may be less likely
to even consider a diagnosis of autism for girls or women. That's on the medical
profession by the way. It's also been suggested
that the diagnostic criteria for autism may not accurately
capture the presentation of symptoms in autistic girls and women. And why? Well, we already know
about the social stuff. Autistic women tend to
present differently. Further to that, autistic women may mask or camouflage their differences and challenges more effectively. You add to that healthcare professionals not potentially understanding
the unique differences in how autism women can present. And what does that lead to? Under diagnosis or
misdiagnosis of autistic women. Autistic women can also
face additional barriers to diagnosis due to social
and cultural expectations and even a stigma around
gender roles and expectations. Quick example, women may be
expected to be more social, more empathetic, which can
then lead to their difficulties being overlooked or simply
put down to shyness, or they're just anxious. It's also been suggested that autistic women may have higher rates of eating disorders and other self-injurious behaviors compared to that of autistic men. This can obviously be due
to many different factors. Difficulties with social processing, a greater social pressure to
conform to beauty standards, or simply a coping mechanism
for stress and anxiety. Another key barrier to
diagnosis for autistic women is co-occurring medical conditions. It's actually been suggested
that autistic women are more likely to experience
co-occurring medical or health conditions than
that of autistic men. Although it's also been widely suggested that autistic people may all be prone to co-occurring medical conditions. For autistic women though, the rates of co-occurring
medical conditions seem to be potentially higher and they can include things
like anxiety and depression. So a challenge for autistic women is that co-occurring
medical health conditions can at times overshadow
their autism symptoms and lead to misdiagnosis. And this can be due in
part to the unique social and emotional challenges
that autistic women face as well as the general
stigma and discrimination that come with being a woman with a neurodevelopmental condition. It's also been suggested
that autistic women are more likely to experience bullying and harassment than autistic men. Although all autistic
people experience bullying and harassment at levels,
no one wants to talk about. Point being though, if
autistic women do experience levels of bullying and
harassment at a rate higher than autistic men, that is
clearly going to contribute to mental health struggles, to co-occurring medical conditions. And again that muddies the water that overshadows other things and leads to underdiagnosis
and misdiagnosis. Honestly, we're just
scratching the surface with the many challenges and
barriers that women and girls face on the path towards
an autism diagnosis. And frankly, we really
do need to work harder towards understanding
the unique experiences, the unique challenges
that autistic women face and tailor diagnostic and
support services accordingly. So let's have a go at
increasing that understanding with some different signs. Here are some different traits
that autistic women may have and as always talking in general terms. Let's start with social communication. One of the core features of autism is challenges with social
communication and interaction. However, this may manifest differently in high masking autistic women. Why? Well, in fact, some autistic women have actually learnt to mimic social cues, have even developed scripts
to appear neurotypical or no different to their peers. With that said, some signs to look out for around the social communication
and interaction section of an autism diagnosis. A difficulty in initiating
or maintaining conversations. And for autistic women, this
may be even more difficult in group settings, an unusual
or repetitive use of language. And this can include a
formal, even pedantic style of language, difficulty with
nonverbal communication. This can include making eye contact, reading facial expressions, social rules, or even subtle social cues. Another sign could be a
tendency to take things very literally, or a general difficulty in understanding sarcasm
or irony or metaphors. And the last sign around
social communication and interaction before we move on is difficulty switching
between topics or activities. Alright, let's talk about
sensory processing differences. Autistic people also have differences in how they process sensory
information, sensory input. Now, this can include hypersensitivity which can appear like an
overreaction to sensory input, an experience that is stronger or intense than the normal experience
or hyposensitivity. So seemingly under
reacting to sensory input, an experience that seems
potentially disproportionately less than what you should experience from that particular sensory input. So some sensory processing
signs to look out for for high masking autistic women. A difficulty filtering out
background noise or distractions, avoidance of certain
textures, sounds or smells, an overstimulation in crowded
or noisy environments, sensory seeking behavior,
hardy of examples but general basic examples,
rocking, spinning, that kind of stuff. Repetitive behaviors and interests can also be connected
to sensory processing. And finally, a hypersensitivity to things like noise, light,
sounds, textures, smells, or a difficulty with proprioception, which in simple terms is an awareness of your body position in space. Let's move on to restricted or repetitive behaviors and interests. And again, these may be less obvious in high masking autistic
women, but there are signs. A sign to lookout for
intense or narrow interests that dominate your
thoughts and conversations. Sensory or stimming behaviors. Remember, even though
we've done sensory already, these types of sensory
or stimming behaviors can be quite repetitive. A preference for routine
and predictability and difficulty with unexpected
changes or transitions. Hate transitions! And finally, a difficulty with
executive functioning skills. Skills like time management, planning, organization, even prioritization. There is clearly a greater
need for awareness, understanding, appreciation, acceptance, and support for autistic women. By actually addressing the barriers to diagnosis and providing
tailored support and resources, we can help ensure that
autistic women receive the best possible care and support. If this video resonated
with you, please share it. And if you have a topic
suggestion you'd like me to cover in an upcoming video, let's
see it in the comments below. Thank you so much for your support. I really do appreciate it. Until my next video,
