Why do we treat women with Asperger’s syndrome
differently to men?
My name’s Sarinah, I’m 23 and I have Asperger’s syndrome
Asperger’s syndrome is a social communication disorder which
is broadly defined by traits including obsessive tendencies
repetitive behaviours, an aversion to sudden changes
differences/difficulties in processing information or
external stimuli, and nonconventional ways
of socialising or presenting oneself
I bet many of you are already thinking
‘But she can’t be autistic, she disnae have an
of the traits!’
And this leads me onto the topic of this video
Asperger’s syndrome is massively misunderstood
and misdiagnosed in girls and women, due to years
of research being conducted on boys and men
creating a rigid phenotype on which to judge autistic people of all genders
I want to add that the points discussed can also be consistent with the experiences
of autistic non-binary people, which I’ve discovered through reading
and talking to others
In 2015, the National Autistic Society provided support to
three times as many men as it did women, and for every
girl enrolled in one of its specialist schools, there
were five boy students
There’s an inherent gender bias linked to autism
So why are so many women going undetected
and consequently untreated?
One of the biggest hurdles to support is owed to ‘masking’
a mechanism used by many women on the spectrum
in order to better fit in, and this not only requires
substantial emotional energy, but it also prevents us from
being our authentic selves
I’m an expert in masking, having had my Asperger’s detected at 17
and diagnosed at 20
I’ve learned to adopt neurotypical behaviours including eye contact
sarcasm, small talk and not saying what I really mean
Males are proven to be less susceptible to masking
displaying their traits more openly through behaviours such as
head hitting, hand flapping, spending more time alone and paying less
attention to their physical appearance
Asperger’s presents more overtly in males, and this
generates the assumption that women and girls are
suffering less, or that there’s no need for a diagnosis
because we present fewer problems in educational
or formal environments
I can usually suppress my fidgeting, crying
hyperventilating and pacing but when I’m at home and
I take my mask off, a delayed sensory overload ensues
with catastrophic effects for both myself and those around me
The reaction to a sensory overload is called a meltdown
and when I’m having one, it resembles a child having
a severe tantrum
This is a sight unfamiliar to even my closest of friends
because I’ve learned to hide it so well
What I’m not so good at hiding are my intense interests
and talking to me about them can be pretty intense
TV and films provide a pretty rigid portrayal of the autistic savant
Almost always male, his special interests encompass science
maths or engineering
but this doesn’t account for girls, who often immerse themselves
in more popular hobbies such as classic literature or animals
Because I spent my childhood reading or playing with my pets
my obsessions were easily overlooked, as people thought
that an interest in these topics was entirely normal
for a girl of my age
It wasn’t until I grew older and my interests intensified
that it became much more obvious
Today, I study English literature and own six animals
and I wouldn’t change it!
Speaking of studying leads me onto my final point
which is that autistic women are prone to perfectionism
owed to their need for control, as well as to their
black and white thinking
My perfectionism at uni is a constant struggle, as I base my
worth on what’s written on paper, something that’s much easier for
me to understand than friendships or relationships
Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old activist nominated for
a Nobel Peace Prize, has spoken openly about how her black and
white thinking owed to her Asperger’s is actually what
ignited her climate strikes. She explains:
And this polarised thinking resonates with many
autistic women
Despite the difficulties, there is definitely a shift in cultural
awareness towards girls and women with Asperger’s syndrome
Thunberg was recently criticised for her ‘monotone voice’
a recognised characteristic of Asperger’s syndrome
and the outpouring of public support definitely reflected
a changing paradigm
Last year, the TV soap Hollyoaks introduced an autistic teenager
played by autistic actress Talia Grant
Grant claims that when she tells somebody that she has autism
they’ll go 'no you don’t' because they have their own idea of it
but she hopes that her role in Hollyoaks will help to change
such perception
In 2017, an autistic puppet Julia appeared on Sesame Street
as part of the show’s ‘See amazing in all children’ initiative
And finally, in her book, autistic writer Rudy Simone coined ‘Aspergirl’
an empowering term now used by autistic women and girls everywhere
But you don’t need to initiate a climate strike, be on TV or write a book to make a difference
As an autistic woman, there are many small changes you can make
which are equally valuable
Personally, my journalism and my activism helps me to reach
out women facing similar hardship
I used to think that there was something wrong with me
not realising that although I’ll struggle more than the
average person, the insights enabled by my Asperger’s
is something that should be cherished and never hidden
And yours are too, so never ever let the
neurotypicals tell you any different!