Autism Girls

 

Growing up, one of the main things that people kept telling me is how Autism is more common in boys than girls. For a very long time I believed this. It even made me feel special like I am rare human being for being a girl with autism. As if I became fated to make a statement. As time went by, to my relief, I learn that autism isn't more common in boys then girls. It's just perceived differently.

Autism was first identified in boys during WWII by Hans Asperger. Little did he know that autism shows up different in girls then boys, but he had a sticky situation to deal with during the war at the start of his studies. So lets forgive him. One has to start somewhere somehow.

Whether we like it or not, women and men are programmed differently. Boys are more task oriented, as they are more likely to focus on a single task over multitasking and focus on the major details. Girls are more detailed oriented, and are generally more interested in the fine detail of things, and will generally multitask more, along with spending more time perfecting their work.

As we grow girls become more detailed oriented. We watch how we dress more, not just because society dictates us to do so but because subconsciously we care about details. We also become more observant of our surroundings, wanting to know what is happening around us, who we are with, and where our children are. Granted it does vary depending on the individual. Some guys can be detailed oriented, and not all girls are. However a lot of guys become detailed oriented by learning from there parents, joining the military, or if they are in a trade school.

Because of how detailed oriented girls are, it is harder to tell with girls depending on were you are on the spectrum. Back when they first began learning about autism, scientists observed two ladies that were on the spectrum, not knowing that they are autistic, they deemed them to be hysterical. Well with all the different hormones, plus the heightened senses, and everything else that comes with the spectrum, it may seem that way to people who don't understand.

I mean once we hit puberty we quickly become a different person then from before, just simply because hormones go crazy and our body shifts and shapes into another form. Plus puberty and hormones are different for every women, and that changes multiple times. That alone makes women want to scream and hide. But take all of that and add autism into the mix, and that varies on its own. If your senses are heightened along with everything else, then it would be easy to mistakenly think one is hysterical rather then autistic, especially when you are only first observing and studying autism. Not to mention, for some odd reason it is cute for girls to obsess over horses, and books, but for boys its considered strange behavior to obsess over something.

Bottom line is that autism is common in women, it's just because we are programmed differently and therefor autism is perceived differently.