How Is Autism Different In Girls?

Overlapping Diagnoses

With girls, autism often comes with overlapping diagnoses or misdiagnoses. The behavioral symptoms may be attributed to a different mental health condition like poor self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. One of the biggest mistakes a parent or doctor can make is assuming social unhappiness is an intrinsic part of girlhood. Many doctors see girls who experience anxiety and distress in social situations, but they can often believe being unhappy around peers is just part of the 'growing-up-girl package.' It's not. While social dysfunction can be the result of depression or low self-esteem, doctors need to dig deeper instead of putting the patient into a stereotypical box. Many girls are also misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or they have ADHD along with autism and it masks the autistic traits. It's especially common for ADHD to be diagnosed in girls whose symptom presentation includes hyperactivity with a more subtle social impairment.

Uncover the information about the quieter symptom presentation in girls with autism next.