
Autism is under-diagnosed in women - whatami
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/women_late_diagnosis_autism
======
sctb
Discussed several months ago:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16679469](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16679469).

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spangry
Wikipedia states that the cause of different rates of diagnosis in men and
women is not a settled question: "Boys are at higher risk for ASD than girls.
The sex ratio averages 4.3:1 and is greatly modified by cognitive impairment:
it may be close to 2:1 with intellectual disability and more than 5.5:1
without. Several theories about the higher prevalence in males have been
investigated, but the cause of the difference is unconfirmed; one theory is
that females are underdiagnosed."

I suppose if one holds the view that men and women are mentally identical on
average, it would lead one to the conclusion that the gender disparity in
diagnosis rates is due to social factors (or some kind of medical
discrimination).

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timwaagh
Surely a contributing factor must be it has been well-established women with
aspergers are much less likely to experience problems from it. we all know how
guys with aspergers end up when they are not exceptionally talented. that is
not as true for girls and women with aspergers. Not that they do not
experience problems, but they will have friends, partners, children
eventually. because autism diagnosis relies on social problems, it is much
harder to diagnose in them.

~~~
merralea
Well established where, outside of the minds of autistic men? Everything I’ve
ever seen has shown that women on the spectrum are evaluated about twice as
negatively on measures of approachability/awkwardness by their peers [1], are
more likely to commit suicide[2] (even though women in the general population
are less likely to), less likely to have friendships after age 10 [3], and
less likely to get married [4]. There seems to be a period in early childhood
where women are either better at masking or not disruptive enough to be
noticed, but the long-term outcomes are worse on every measure.

[1]
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286449/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286449/)

[2] [https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-
core/c...](https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-
core/content/view/4C9260DB64DFC29AF945D32D1C15E8F2/S0007125000279385a.pdf/premature_mortality_in_autism_spectrum_disorder.pdf)

[3]
[http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1995-97924-000](http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1995-97924-000)

[4]
[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-007-0441-x](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-007-0441-x)

~~~
hyperpape
A related fact, though I don't have a citation at hand, is that masking
behaviors are often associated with worse mental health and overall outcomes.
Third-parties might perceive an autistic person who masks their behaviors as
"higher-functioning", but it's often bad for the individual.

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espeed
Yep, often misdiagnosed as BPD or one of the Cluster B's, come to find out
Asperger's is on the same spectrum. One of the most confounding situations
I've ever experienced.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_B_personality_disorder...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_B_personality_disorders)

~~~
stephengillie
A common theme seems to be the feedback loop of attention from other people -
from being unable to handle, to not being able to perceive, to seeking too
much.

~~~
espeed
One of the common traits is an inability to access higher-order cognitive
functions such as empathy and being unaware of their inability to do so. This
often means they're in a chronic state of anxiety and confusion because the
intentions of others make no sense. Conflating empathy for low affect feelings
of sympathy while assuming an identity of the most empathetic and most
sympathetic person in the world, maybe even thinking they're HSP. Here's one
way you can find out and discover to what extent that's factoring into the
mix.

Next time you find yourself in a situation where they are behaving contrary to
what you would expect, don't assume malice. Make sure you carefully and
clearly articulate your feelings and perspective, have them voice their
concerns, and then ask them to rearticulate what you just said. Ask them to
put into their own words what _you_ are thinking and feeling, to rearticulate
what your perspective is and why. Ask them to explain the cause and effect of
their actions. And then shut up and let them answer, see what happens. Pay
close attention to how they respond, to what extent they can empathise even if
it's just simply repeating back what you said. You both may be shocked -- them
by the question, you by the response -- but it'll be an enlightening
experience. And after a time or two of that, at least you'll know where you
are.

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akvadrako
The title here is editorialised and the article provides no evidence to back
it up.

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dang
If you or anyone can suggest a more accurate and neutral title, preferably
using representative language from the article, we can change it again.

~~~
stephengillie
How about "Anecdotes from adult women who were recently diagnosed with
Autism"?

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dang
"Anecdotes" has a pejorative connotation these days.

~~~
stephengillie
"Anec-datum aren't data" again?

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julienreszka
The title is funny but oh man, why trolling so hard.

