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Autism in Girls and Women

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Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults

Abstract

Men are biologically more brittle, while women are socially vulnerable. This proposition has long been supported by the differences in prevalence of psychopathology between genders at different ages. In childhood (development) psychopathology is seen far more often in boys, while from adolescence onwards, psychopathology appears to be more prevalent in women (Rutter 2008). Yet, this vision has become unsustainable in recent years. Developmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are still more often identified in boys than in girls. Disruptive behaviour in boys is indeed striking and therefore raises more concerns and leads more often to act and consequently to more referrals. However in adulthood the prevalence of developmental disorders in both sexes grows very close to each other. This could be because more boys than girls are “cured” of their developmental disorder and have fewer problems in adulthood. On the other hand, it is far more likely that developmental disorders in girls are less well recognized. This has very serious consequences. By not acknowledging a developmental disorders behind a façade of traumatization or addiction or another wrong diagnosis (e.g. borderline personality disorder instead of ADHD or ASD), many women are withheld from adequate treatment and unnecessary suffering for a very long time (van Wijngaarden and van der Gaag 2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Dimence Centre of Developmental Disorders, Deventer, The Netherlands

    Patricia van Wijngaarden-Cremers

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  1. Patricia van Wijngaarden-Cremers
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Correspondence to Patricia van Wijngaarden-Cremers .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, NOVA Medical School, Lisbon, Portugal

    Bernardo Barahona Corrêa

  2. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Nijmegen St. Radboud, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Rutger-Jan van der Gaag

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van Wijngaarden-Cremers, P. (2017). Autism in Girls and Women. In: Barahona Corrêa, B., van der Gaag, RJ. (eds) Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42713-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42713-3_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42711-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42713-3

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