Towards the equal recognition of autism in girls and women

Towards the equal recognition of autism in girls and womenDiagnosis rates between the sexes may be more equal than previously thought Anne E Cary patient and patient advocateAutism has long been regarded as a condition that predominantly affects the male sex, with even the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition) stating a male to female ratio of 4:1 for diagnoses.More recent research, as well as common self-reported experiences of autistic women, 1 suggest that the true ratio is less skewed and that current practices are failing to recognise autism in many women until later in life, if at all.A 2017 meta-analysis of research before 2011 suggests a lower but still skewed ratio of 3:1. 2 This is an area of active research with multiple competing and complementary hypotheses. 2 -6 The harms of underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of autism in women-harms that are infrequently reported in medical research but are often discussed in the autistic community-extend beyond barriers to appropriate interventions, supports, and accommodations afforded to correctly diagnosed autism in women.For example, in a report from the Autistic Women's and Nonbinary Network, patient Helena described how before her autism diagnosis, her misdiagnosis of borderline personality disorder led to a stay for a year and a half on a psychiatric ward."I think they were misinterpreting everything I did and assigned me motivations I didn't have . . .Possibly that partly explains why the treatment was quite ineffective and why I stayed so long and they didn't know what to do with me."