- Hey everyone, today we're gonna discuss
autism spectrum disorder, but more specifically,
how does an autism spectrum disorder
look differently in girls versus boys?
Before we jump into that, are you new to my channel?
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But let's jump into this topic.
In case you weren't aware,
autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, affects one in
every 68 children and are much more commonly
diagnosed in boys.
Some studies show that boys are four times
more likely than girls to have ASD,
but new research suggests that it may appear
differently in girls and therefore, go undiagnosed
or possibly be misdiagnosed as something entirely different.
The criteria for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder
which is a developmental condition that is marked
by social and communication difficulties
and repetitive inflexible patterns of behavior,
just so you kinda know what we're talking about
when I reference ASD,
but all of this criteria is based on data
that's derived almost entirely from studies of boys.
This lack of data surrounding how ASD may affect
a female has led to years of misunderstanding
and misdiagnosis, especially for those girls
on the higher functioning end of the spectrum.
Now, research has shown that females
who received a diagnosis of ASD
at a very young age, were much more affected by the ASD
than their male counterparts.
They showed lower IQs and extreme behavioral problems,
whereas the boys who were diagnosed
didn't have to be so severe to get proper treatment.
In a very recent study conducted in 2016,
they found that even the way that the brain
processes social information is different
based on the sex of the child.
Boys with ASD use certain portions of the brain
to manage social situations and those regions
are different than boys without ASD.
So, seeing those parts of their brain light up
during social interaction was an easy way to diagnose them.
However, in girls with ASD, it's not like that at all.
In a girl with ASD, her brain will light up
in the same way that a non-ASD boys would.
Why is that, you might ask?
We don't really know yet
and they're doing follow-up research on this right now
but it has already been supported by a completely
different study that was conducted in Australia
on 25 boys with ASD and 25 girls with ASD.
Now I could hypothesize that it's because ya know,
generally speaking, girls do develop socially more quickly
and intensely than boys.
Therefore, even if they're somewhat held back
in the area, it still wouldn't be as severe
as a boys would.
Researchers believe that this occurs
because of our sex hormones.
We already know that men and women are very different
but maybe we don't fully understand just how
different we are.
All of this is honestly just so fascinating to me.
I can't wait to find out more as they complete more studies.
They also believe that girls are much better at noticing
and mimicking behavior and will work really hard
to appear completely normal.
Therefore, in order to be properly diagnosed as a girl
with ASD, you need to not just observe them,
but you also have to talk to them about their
personal experience with socializing
or managing change in their life.
This could be another reason why high functioning
ASD girls tend to be diagnosed much, much later than boys.
They also find that boys with autism are not
really interested in socializing and often,
when they're asked, they'll report that they just
don't really care if they have any friends or not.
But girls on the other hand, they do care,
and they show a much greater desire to connect.
They also found that girls with ASD
don't tend to have as much repetitive behavior as the boys
and many of their past times and interests
are similar to other girls without ASD.
They even find that girls with ASD will still engage
in very quote/unquote normal play.
But instead of doing role playing, with let's say
their Barbies, for example,
they will just set up scenes that are visually pleasing
to them, so it's none of this like,
"And then she went in the back
"and then she kissed Ken.
"Oh, so exciting."
They just set it up so it looks nice,
which is just yet another reason why ASD in females
may go unnoticed so much longer.
But last, they share that girls with ASD
tend to be viewed as just too much,
meaning they're often too intense about a certain subject
or too sensitive or too rigid about their schedule.
You can see why that would be now that we know more
about autism spectrum disorders as a whole,
but I could even guess that ya know,
due to this issue, many girls with ASD could be
accidentally misdiagnosed with BPD
or OCD when they're older if they're not properly diagnosed
early on with ASD.
If you don't know what I'm talking about when I say
BPD or OCD, BPD stands for
Borderline Personality Disorder and I'll link my video
all about it in the description.
OCD is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
which I'll also link down there if you're just interested.
Many girls have been diagnosed with OCD, ADHD,
and even anorexia instead of ASD like they should've been.
Anorexia in the female ASD population
is much, much higher than in the non-ASD girl population
and they believe that many of the symptoms
in profiles of the two diagnoses work together,
meaning that the rigidity, focus,
and detail-oriented nature of both ASD
and eating disorders can mean that EDs are the way
that ASD can show itself in the female population.
As we know, many people with ASD find certain tastes
and textures of foods really disgusting and just hate it.
This can lead them to having a very restrictive diet.
Now, they obviously do not think that all females
with an eating disorder also have autism.
Instead, they believe that some of the girls
who should've been diagnosed with ASD
have been instead diagnosed
and treated for an eating disorder.
They also see similar issues with the diagnosis
of ADHD and OCD in young girls.
So if you have a young child or you're around a young female
who just got diagnosed with ADHD, OCD,
or an eating disorder, it might be worth
getting a second opinion.
Research also finds that females with ASD,
since they tend to take things literally and are direct,
that they can more easily fall victim to sexual exploitation
such as assault or getting stuck in an abusive relationship.
They say this especially for females because
just as we discussed earlier,
we strive for connection and we're aware that we can
struggle to make friends and build relationships.
So, we may choose to be with someone just because
they show us a little attention,
even if that attention isn't kind or loving.
So just be really, really careful and if possible,
check in with someone who cares about you
and has been in your life for a really long time
before going on a one-on-one date
or to a party with someone that you maybe
don't know that well, ya know, just to be safe.
When I was doing all of my research and reading
all these interesting articles, thank you so much
for asking these questions, that's what I love about
what I do, it challenges me to learn more.
While I was doing this, I came across some amazing
resources and since it can be hard to talk to
our parents, if we find ourselves in the female population
of those with ASD, it can be hard to talk to people
about what we may be struggling with.
Luckily, there are many programs around the U.S.
to help out and obviously, add in any you may know
from other countries in the comments down below.
But these different resources are there to help us
socialize, better manage our hygiene,
and even talk about dating.
So here are two that I found simply by just doing some
basic research and the first is in Kansas City
and it's a program called Girls Night Out.
It's in Kansas City, Kansas, just FYI.
The second one is in New York City
and it's called The Felicity House.
Those are just two resources that may be helpful
if you live in those areas and you just struggle
to find someone to talk to about all that you may be,
ya know, stressed, anxious, or just worried about.
Overall, remember that every diagnosis
will be expressed and even feel differently
to each person who has it.
So while these findings may help us better understand
why many girls go undiagnosed or untreated,
it doesn't apply to all girls with ASD.
Always ask, listen, and seek to understand
their experience before jumping to any conclusions.
If you're concerned that your child may be
on the spectrum, please reach out to a specialist
in your area because with proper support
and treatment, it can get better.
This video has been brought to you by
the kinyons on Patreon.
If you would like to support the creation
of these mental health videos, click the link
in the description and check it out.
I hope you found this information as interesting
as I did.
Please share this video too.
So many people are unaware of this research
and their findings.
Like I said, it was really, really recent.
So you never know who it could help.
Have a wonderful day and I will see you next time.
Bye!