At Bright Futures Care, we offer residential housing and schooling opportunities to people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and learning disabilities. Autism can present in many different ways, and symptoms do sometimes depend on the gender of the person diagnosed.
So how does autism in females differ from males? We have put together some differences to give you a better idea of those symptoms that might not be obvious.
Autism In Females
Historically, far more boys than girls have been diagnosed with autism. The most recent ratio available is approximately 3 boys to every 1 girl, showing still that males are more likely to present with this illness.
One reason behind why more boys are diagnosed with autism than girls is that the diagnostic criteria is largely been the same, but symptoms differ dramatically.
According to most conventional thought, boys with autism tend to have a very limited area of play, whilst girls have a much larger one. This isn’t the only difference however and girls with autism are much more likely to appear not to have social limitations while they are young, but are equally more likely to suffer with mental health difficulties such as depression or anxiety.
Spark for Autism suggests that girls with autism are far more likely to mimic other children than boys, and therefore appear not to be living with autism spectrum disorder at all.
These factors can make it much harder to spot autism in females until much later on, and sometimes not at all.
Helping Limit The Impact of Autism
While it is true that men and women with autism usually present different symptoms, some support can equally help both genders. While the needs of the person might differ, ongoing therapeutic support and one-to-one learning environments can help to further the goals of everyone with autism in an individual way.
At Bright Futures Care, our learning and support plans are centred around individual people, because of this, we are able to personalise the experiences of those we are caring for. What is the result of this? An environment that everyone can use to grow and succeed.
To find out more about Bright Futures Care, contact our friendly team or visit our website today.
