What do you think about this?

[Midnights11]

What do you think about this?



I’m not a doctor but was curious about this when I researched it. You probably all know that boys are four times more likely to get autism, but I was like why is that? So I looked it up and found something interesting. According to Health line, girls have more protective genetic factors to keep them from getting autism.

If that’s true, it’s a mystery why I have autism as a woman. Unless I was misdiagnosed and maybe have something else. but I took the test, answered the questions and according to my answers, it was seen that I have trouble putting myself in someone else’s shoes so to speak.

My doctor I saw at the time confirmed Asperger’s (Now called high functioning autism). The extreme male brain, I found out is when a baby is more vulnerable to testosterone levels in the womb. I was wondering what everyone thought about this, and why you think women can get autism too if this is true. I’m guessing something like genetics or environmental factors?

 

[Masked Man]

I can't speak with regards to the article in Healthline, but I believe (my unprofessional view anyway) is that autism tends to be lower in actual diagnosed cases in girls as compared to boys.

What that means is this: girls tend to be socialized differently than boys are. Girls are encouraged to be sympathetic, understanding, and have better emotional regulation. Boys are encouraged to be rough and tumble, and to suppress any emotional display with the exception of anger.

Furthermore, it is more socially acceptable for girls to fall outside of this gendered boundary of behavior. It's not as easy for boys to do the same.

So when boys are persistently different that falls outside of the boundaries of socially accepted gendered behavior, they are more likely to be diagnosed. When girls are different, they are just thought of as being quirky. Additionally, girls are more likely to learn appropriate social behavior because it's expected of them, and therefore more likely to mask.

I absolutely believe there are just as many autistic girls as boys - they just have not been diagnosed.

 

[Shamar]

What do you think about this?



I’m not a doctor but was curious about this when I researched it. You probably all know that boys are four times more likely to get autism, but I was like why is that? So I looked it up and found something interesting. According to Health line, girls have more protective genetic factors to keep them from getting autism.

If that’s true, it’s a mystery why I have autism as a woman. Unless I was misdiagnosed and maybe have something else. but I took the test, answered the questions and according to my answers, it was seen that I have trouble putting myself in someone else’s shoes so to speak.

My doctor I saw at the time confirmed Asperger’s (Now called high functioning autism). The extreme male brain, I found out is when a baby is more vulnerable to testosterone levels in the womb. I was wondering what everyone thought about this, and why you think women can get autism too if this is true. I’m guessing something like genetics or environmental factors?

A bullet proof vest can give you some protection from some bullets, but it doesn't keep you from getting shot. "More protective" does not mean immunity.

 

[Rodafina]

I agree with @Masked Man.

My understanding is that for a variety of genetic and cultural factors, autism can present differently in females than in males. And then of course, it presents quite differently from one human to another, too. For the last several decades, the diagnostic and screening tools for autism were based on a narrow and stereotypically male presentation.

There is growing research to show that the original ratio of males to females diagnosed with autism is rapidly changing and becoming more equal. Also, there is growing research to support the notion that there is more diversity among autistic males then was once imagined… They don’t all like trucks and trains, even though some of them do.

 

[undertheradar]

Well actually, a lot of research suggests that it may be more like two boys for every girl

You have to keep in mind That a lot of the criteria was developed with young boys in mind... And actually it's young Caucasian boys...

Also typically a lot of the things that females do makes it easier for them to mask

At least that's the thought behind it

 

[Neonatal RRT]

What do you think about this?



I’m not a doctor but was curious about this when I researched it. You probably all know that boys are four times more likely to get autism, but I was like why is that? So I looked it up and found something interesting. According to Health line, girls have more protective genetic factors to keep them from getting autism.

If that’s true, it’s a mystery why I have autism as a woman. Unless I was misdiagnosed and maybe have something else. but I took the test, answered the questions and according to my answers, it was seen that I have trouble putting myself in someone else’s shoes so to speak.

My doctor I saw at the time confirmed Asperger’s (Now called high functioning autism). The extreme male brain, I found out is when a baby is more vulnerable to testosterone levels in the womb. I was wondering what everyone thought about this, and why you think women can get autism too if this is true. I’m guessing something like genetics or environmental factors?

These are the results of the Autism Genome Project and will pretty much answer your questions. There appears to be a protective effect for females, as it requires a significant increase in genetic loading in order for a female to exhibit the characteristics of autism.

Yes, the hormonal milieu has a role to play in the "epigenetic" component of autism. It's not an elevated testosterone, but and elevated maternal estrogen that has its associations with autism, as is hypothyroidism and elevated insulin levels.

There is a long list of potential associations with autism. There are genetic and epigenetic (gene transcription associated with the intrauterine environment) components. No single cause. Multiple factors.

 

[Midnights11]

These are the results of the Autism Genome Project and will pretty much answer your questions. There appears to be a protective effect for females, as it requires a significant increase in genetic loading in order for a female to exhibit the characteristics of autism.

Yes, the hormonal milieu has a role to play in the "epigenetic" component of autism. It's not an elevated testosterone, but and elevated maternal estrogen that has its associations with autism, as is hypothyroidism and elevated insulin levels.

There is a long list of potential associations with autism. There are genetic and epigenetic (gene transcription associated with the intrauterine environment) components. No single cause. Multiple factors.

I just feel like a unicorn I guess with my diagnosis

 

[DaisyRose]

Girls are more likely to not get diagnosed because we can better adapt to our surroundings and blend in easier. It was harder to get diagnosed because I knew how to blend in and seem like I know what to do, when I had no idea how to carry out certain tasks.

 

[Fino]

Whether or not it's more likely for girls to have autism, doesn't make it a mystery that you have autism. It just means you beat the odds.

 

[VictorR]

To add to @Masked Man's comments,

Studies looking at diagnosis by age have shown lower male:female ratios for those older at time of diagnosis.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acps.13368
https://aidecanada.ca/resources/learn/asd-id-core-knowledge/autism-it's-not-just-for-males-anymore
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40489-020-00225-8

 

[Progster]

I absolutely believe there are just as many autistic girls as boys - they just have not been diagnosed.

Yes - or they are misdiagnosed, or diagnosed with something else instead - social anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, OCD, etc.

 

[Midnights11]

Whether or not it's more likely for girls to have autism, doesn't make it a mystery that you have autism. It just means you beat the odds.

Thank You but that still doesn’t help. I’m probably stating the obvious and speaking for everyone here, but I never asked for autism.

 

[Fino]

There isn't much that I have ever gotten that I asked for.

 

[Shevek]

What do you think about this?



I’m not a doctor but was curious about this when I researched it. You probably all know that boys are four times more likely to get autism, but I was like why is that? So I looked it up and found something interesting. According to Health line, girls have more protective genetic factors to keep them from getting autism.

If that’s true, it’s a mystery why I have autism as a woman. Unless I was misdiagnosed and maybe have something else. but I took the test, answered the questions and according to my answers, it was seen that I have trouble putting myself in someone else’s shoes so to speak.

My doctor I saw at the time confirmed Asperger’s (Now called high functioning autism). The extreme male brain, I found out is when a baby is more vulnerable to testosterone levels in the womb. I was wondering what everyone thought about this, and why you think women can get autism too if this is true. I’m guessing something like genetics or environmental factors?

Of course you can have it. I got it from my mother. The odds of you not getting it as a female are just a couple of coin-tosses better.
Ma Nature can only get a few babies from any womb, so She does not want to risk them unduly, nor the progeny from them. She has to experiment to move evolution forward, though, so she tinkers with the men. You have twice as many female ancestors as males, because a few men had many children, and many men had none. However, evolution needs to be sloppy, so being male or female only gives tendencies, not certainties.