Diagnosis for Women and Girls

Another reason girls have frequently gone undiagnosed is the greater social pressure to fit in, which encourages masking, or the suppression of autistic traits. This might involve hiding sensory discomfort, becoming a "people pleaser", or forcing oneself to make unpleasant eye contact.

This leads to a great deal of extra stress and mental exhaustion. Autistic girls who are overlooked for an autism assessment might even be misdiagnosed with anxiety or personality disorders instead. Trans and non-binary people frequently mask as well and face similar challenges in being correctly identified.

With so many autistic girls being overlooked in past generations, and with the boom in research and awareness on this issue, there has been a significant rise in autism diagnoses for adult women. In fact, women in their 40s currently make up the largest proportion of new diagnoses.

Many women whose autistic male classmates were being diagnosed 30 or 40 years ago are finally coming to understand themselves better. As these women have shared their own stories, they have helped to broaden the collective picture of what an autistic life can look like.

As different autistic experiences are finally heard, diagnostic assessments are changing to adapt. While stereotypes persist, many professionals and specialists are learning to ask better questions that account for internalised experiences rather than just outward behaviour.

Understanding these nuances ensures that support is based on a person’s actual needs rather than how well they can perform neurotypical social standards.