World Autism Day: Empowering Women and Girls with Autism

By in Neurosciences Neurology

Apr 3, 2018

Is your daughter autistic? The answer may not be that simple as it would be if you had a son. The main reason is that the sign of autism in girls and women are not same as those in boys and men. The sign of autism in girls and women are missed easily, especially in the case of high functioning autism.

According to studies it has been observed that one woman for every nine men is being diagnosed with the so-called “high-functioning” autism; which means autism without intellectual disability. Whereas if we look upon the data of the females living with “low-functioning” autism in comparison to that of males the ratio comes out to be 4(men):1(women). Looking at the data we can easily imagine that how many autistic women are being left undiagnosed and untreated.

To make majority of people aware about the symptoms of autism in women and girls, 2 April is being observed as World Autism Day across the world, as declared by United Nations. Every year the day is celebrated with a specific theme and this year the theme for the day is “Empowering Women and Girls with Autism” which will focus on the importance of emancipating women and girls living with autism and thus involving them in policy and decision making in their respective organizations to mark the challenges they face in their everyday life.

As girls with autistic disability grow up and reach to teenage, the gap between their condition and that of boys clearly widens; and as they reach up to their adulthood phase they become highly skilled in the art of camouflage (hiding) which elaborates the use of the term “invisible disability” which is used to explain certain type of high functioning autism.

How autism disorder is different in girls?

Generally boys and girls with autism disorder (AD) are similar in many ways, but some of the characteristics of AD are different from that in boys:

• Girls/Women with autism are more passive
• They seems to have better social skills
• They have better communication skills as compared to that of boys with autism
• They have fewer repetitive behaviors and narrow interests than boys
• Autistic girls/women have more intellectual disability when compared to boys with autism

Ways of diagnosing autism disorder in girls:

Social Factors:

As mentioned above autistic girls or women have more developed social skills than boys with the same disorder. Girls are good at masking so the symptoms of the disorder remain “hidden” from carers, schoolteachers, peers and from those who are involved in the diagnosis process.

Although they have better social skills but they face difficulty in maintaining a two-way relationship and thus can be bullied during their teenage phase. Older girls with AD have more struggle in socially as the society tends to expect different social behaviors from girls and boys.

Sex Hormones:

According to One Theory, autistic people think, learn and act in “male” ways regardless of their gender. This is known as having a male profile. Generally females with autistic disorder are frequently prescribed medications which lead to the reduction of sexual arousal. This might lead to autistic women thinking themselves as asexual.  

So let’s take a step ahead and help those women and girls who have autism to get proper diagnosis along with treatment and medication because a woman’s health is directly proportional to the family and the country at large which will automatically lead to a better world.

Different types of treatment therapies for autism:

Occupational Therapy– An occupational therapist uses a holistic approach for the improvement of physical, social, emotional, sensory and cognitive abilities.

Speech Therapy– people with autism face major problems with both verbal and non-verbal communications. Therefore, Speech therapy is considered as the central part of the treatment for autism as it addresses a wide range of communication problems for the people who are dealing with autism.  

ABA Therapy– applied behavior analysis is one of the biggest autism therapies in existence. Experts and doctors highly recommend ABA therapy for the best results. ABA technique is used to bring about the meaningful and positive change in the behavior.

Social Skills Classes– these classes help autistic people to develop their social skills such as making and maintaining eye contact, greeting habits, etc, which will help them in their daily life activities.

“If you are thinking that your daughter or wife might have autism, it’s best to make an appointment with doctor as soon as possible. A good way to start is with your general physician, who can later refer you to psychologists, occupational therapists and speech therapists if your wife or daughter needs them because “Autism is not a disability, it’s a Different Ability.”

Doctors at Metro Group of Hospitals establishes special plan of treatment and focus while addressing autism patients. We always encourage people for regular follow-ups and abidance to the plan of treatment for better results.
For appointments and more information, call: +91 9910492867 or e-mail: metro@metrohospitals.com.