Why Autistic Women Are Often Misdiagnosed

Autism has always been described as an "extreme male brain", and the stereotype still focuses on male, rather than female behavior.

Women can learn to imitate the behaviour of non-autistic people. Yet they show problems in "social interaction and attachment to routine". They are generally not really understood at school and work, which exposes them to mental health problems that include depression, food disorders and inflicting harm on the self. Being shy and naïve, they can also be abused, according to The Guardian.com.

However, as the focus has always been on male behavior, a current draft of new guidance in order to enhance the care and support that UK's National Health Services (NHS) and local authorities give to autistic adults have never made any mention of the differing needs of women.

"I was absolutely shocked that women weren't included in the guidance," says Monique Blakemore, of user-led advocacy and campaigning group Autism Women Matter (AWM). "I was asked last year by the Department of Health (DH) to feed back on the key issues for women. We did a survey of around 100 women and presented the results to the DH. We engaged in the process but we just don't feel it has engaged enough with us."

The National Autistic Society (NAS) also points to the flaw, so that the guidance can focus on women's problems.

Blakemore started AWM in 2013. Having mothered two autistic children, she teamed up with a fellow campaigner, Olley Edwards. "The response we had was overwhelming," she says. "There were hundreds and hundreds of women getting in touch."

One major problem for most of the women was fundamental---they did not get a proper diagnosis. Whenever a GP refused to give an assessment to anyone, then they had to visit a private person at a cost of between £300 and £1,500. Among the 62% of women that survey, a third (29%) had to go only to private doctors.

Director Dr Judith Gould at the NAS' Lorna Wing Centre for Autism confirmed that older women in their 30s, 40s or over that did not ever get a diagnosis, which could lead to abusive relationships.

As autism is thought to be four or five times prevalent in males rather than females, most cases are misdiagnosed, and there are more girls than traditionally thought. If a GP isn't supportive, the women get stuck. Gould is enhancing and altering the questions that are asked of women patients in the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO) used in UK by doctors.