At
he risk of sounding sexist, when I read this article my first
thought was of course they are going to look at boys more than girls. Girls are
supposed to be quieter and shy. Boys are expected to noisy and active, if they
don't, parents and doctors rush to his aid and try to fix the problem, lest the
boy grow up to be different. There's a lot of social politics about how a child
develops, especially boys.
Another
problem the article points out, is how long it took for girls to be properly
diagnosed. They just didn't see the significance of the girls behavior. Again,
less attention is paid to girls.
Think I'm
exaggerating? I wasn't diagnosed until I was fifty, the psychologist merely
confirmed what I told him and despite having friends who had it or had children
with ASD, no one saw it in me.
"But
you act so normal," they explained when I questioned them. Yes, after decades
of imitating neuronormals as a coping skill.
The
Lesson here is that adults need to get past gender expectations and pay
attention to girls as much as boys or it will lead to the stress of undiagnosed
girls struggling to develop or fit in.
