What happens when you spend the majority of your life living with a misdiagnosed disease? How does it affect your life? Do you become depressed? What happens when you are treated for something that isn’t affecting you? Could that make you worse? For many women, this life and these questions are a very harmful reality. Recently, there has been a surge of late-diagnoses for women on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum. These women had previously been diagnosed with everything from depression and anxiety to multiple personality disorder and had spent years wondering why no treatments seemed to work for them. Why does this happen? Recent strides in autism research has enabled doctors to pinpoint autism as early as infancy in some cases, so why are these women not being diagnosed until much later in life?
To understand this, we must first understand what the recognized perception of autism is. For most of the public and many within the research community, autism is seen as a very masculine disease. Not only do males make up most of the population diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, but autism is also seen as an exaggeration of the stereotypical male brain. As a matter of fact, Simon Baron-Cohen, the scientist who discovered the “extreme male brain” (EMB) theory of autism, found that females on the autism spectrum displayed more masculinized personality traits. Baron-Cohen acknowledged that there was a slight difference in the severity of
Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism
Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that predominantly affects four times as many boys than girls. Autism is considered a boys disease, leaving a number of girls undiagnosed. Many symptoms include repetitive behaviors, not relating to others, object fixations, however, girls’ symptoms are unique in that they are social able and they don’t fit the norm. The number of children being diagnosed with autism has increased more than ever, as a result, resources needs to be readily available for these families. The rise in the rates in autism has increased from 1 to 68 per child in the United States. A number of reasons such as nutrition, medication, and genetics have also been credited for the rise for autism. According to the DSM-5 (2013), autism has been redefined and ASD is now an umbrella term that includes autism, Retts, Asperger etc. Thanks to the voice of politicians and entertainers, famous people have given autism the awareness it deserves.
This theory it seemed was a large one among the psychological explanations, and so to understand it better I decided to read ‘The Essential Difference: men, women and the extreme male brain’ by Simon Baron-Cohen. This theory suggests that people who suffer from autism are more likely to have a ‘male brain’, in the sense that they lack empathy, and excel in systemising. Furthermore, they have what is known as an ‘extreme male brain’ as they lack empathy and excel in systemising even more than the average male. This therefore explains why people who suffer with autism find it hard to produce emotional responses and can feel uncomfortable in social situations and can also explain why around about 4 times as many boys suffer from autism than girls, as females
Females with autism suffer because of being a minority within this disorder and this prejudice often carries over into other disciplines in the medical research field.
The overall statistics, according to the data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that 1 in 68 children in the U.S has autism, 1 in 42 boys have autism while 1 in 189 girls has autism. Autism is so rare in females that, according to an article from the New York Times, they are considered to be “research orphans” because it so difficult to find enough females with the disorder to do a proper research on (Bazelon). Despite the lack of autistic female subject, there has been a lot of differences in the typical behavior of males and females with autism. According to Bazelon, young females tends to do better in behavior than males because they are less likely to set off tantrums and are easier to handle. However, as teenagers, girls tends to suffer from severe depression and anxiety because they are unable to maintain friendship with other females while some autistic males do maintain some friendships with other peers despite their awkwardness. Basically, most teenage females engage in a lot of social networks thus making bonds with typical females a challenge as autistic females do not share the same interests. Males do not face the same difficulties because their expectations are not as high as females. The huge difference of autism in gender is so significant that it even the typical gender roles are somewhat
Autism has been made to seem like this huge issue, something that needs to be stopped. While there are many issues that come with autism, it is not something that should be getting such negative attention. People with autism seem to be the most extraordinary out of any of us. “They are usually intelligent, gifted, honest, hard workers when interested in a task and excellent problem solvers. People with high-functioning autism are thought to become excellent scientists and engineers or enter other professions where painstaking, methodical analysis is required. Some believe this particular assertion is a stereotype, as some high-functioning autism adults tend to struggle with the traditional work setting and the surrounding societally accepted ways of behaving,” (Synapse, Pg 2). There
One more scientific approach found males to be less empathetic and more technically minded than females, though this is not true in every case. It can also be argued that the typical male personality is naturally inclined toward some of the characteristics that this disease carries. (Autism Help). A study published in 2006 suggested that men over 40 are more likely than younger men to father a child with Autism, and that the ratio of Autism incidence in boys are closer to 1:1 with older fathers. There are also false diagnoses happening. This will occur at school if the teacher sees’ autism related behavior and puts a label on that child for the rest of their schooling career. This is where controversy comes in because sometimes that child may just have had a troubling childhood or some other
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by the early-onset inability to engage in social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behavior. It is commonly known to be a developmental disorder. Genetics, in conjunction with developmentally early environmental factors, play a key role in the causation of autism. Studies show that autism is more prevalent in males than females, although there is not much difference in individuals with intellectual disability. Because atypical development is now being recognized early in toddlers, children are now frequently diagnosed at the age of 2 years and last into adulthood, although symptoms may improve over time. A wide range of health care providers are the first professionals to
Autistic infants often show little or no interest in other people and lack typical social behaviors. For example, they may not smile at their mother's voice or make eye contact with caregivers. Autistic children fail to develop normal relationships with their parents, brothers or sisters, and other children. Often they seem unaware of the needs and feelings of other people, and may not respond if another person is hurt or in distress. They also fail to make friends.
In the United States 1 in 68 births results in an Autism diagnosis (Autism Society). In this time period, at the moment, there are new medical discoveries every day. These breakthroughs range from new diseases prevention methods, to new cures for previously “terminal” illnesses. So, because our society is constantly changing, evolving, and improving, it is absolutely necessary to keep up with the awareness of these new discoveries. One disorder that has existed for years, but has recently gained a lot of awareness is Autism. Autism is defined as “a disorder in brain development that ultimately affects its victims’ everyday social interaction” (Autismspeaks.org) . Signs and symptoms of Autism are usually shown in early childhood, and are easily detected by parents, if they are aware. However, if a parent or guardian notices any signs, they should take action immediately. How fast they take action in this situation could make or break the future of their child.
One the biggest psychological disorders in our society is childhood autism. Childhood autism is defined as “A pervasive developmental disorder defined by the presence of abnormal and/or impaired development that is manifest before the age of 3 years, and by the characteristic type of abnormal functioning in all three areas of social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour.” (MHresource.org). Furthermore, boys are three to four more times likely to develop childhood autism than girls (MHresources.org). Statistics also show that the prevalence of childhood autism in births is one in fifty-nine and has grown 119.4 percent from 2000 to 2010 (CDC). Now, researchers are looking into what causes childhood autism. They are
Autism is a developmental disability that affects all areas of behavior and perception. Approximately 10 out of every 10,000 children are diagnosed with autism and four out of five are males. Autism is the third most common developmental disability, more common than Down Syndrome. Children with Autism are characterized by impairment in several areas of development such as: Cognitive, Language, Play/Socialization skills and exhibit many challenging behaviors. Behavior Patterns of Autism:
Tens of millions of people have been diagnosed with Autism worldwide, effecting both genders, all races, ethnicities and people from all socioeconomic classes. In 2010 a Surveillance Summary was conducted in the United States, where it identified that one in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). It has been recognised
In recent years there has been an increasing amount of media coverage on the rising number of children who have been diagnosed with autism. On social media, there are people who have stated that autism wasn’t a problem when they were a kid, so why is it a problem now? The context of this question is saying that not many people had autism then, and now more children are being diagnosed with the disorder. However this question can also be taken as someone asking why society as a whole now sees autism as a problem.
Scientifically, autism and autism spectrum disorder, also known as ASD, are commonly used names for difficult disorders that have to do with brain development. Disorders like these are grouped by someone’s difficulty in social interaction, repetitive behaviors, and nonverbal communication. To the people who are diagnosed with this disorder and the families it affects; it is so much more than just science.