Autism and Gender

The current estimated ratio of Autistic boys/men to Autistic girls/women is 3:1. This ratio has changed over time, but what it tells us is that Autistic women and girls may be underrepresented in diagnosis and prevalence information we have now.

There are many reasons women and girls aren’t getting autism diagnoses at the same rate as men and boys, including:

• A lack of understanding, particularly among health and education professionals, of how autism can present in Autistic girls and women, compared to Autistic boys and men.
• Screening and diagnostic tools are designed to identify Autistic traits and characteristics that are more common in boys and men, so they can miss the different characteristics Autistic girls and women present.
• The concerns of parents of girls are often dismissed, leading to later referral, assessment and diagnosis.

Autistic girls and women often receive a mental health diagnosis instead of an autism diagnosis. This can make it less likely for professionals to consider autism as a potential diagnosis.

It’s important for Autistic girls to have access to timely and accurate diagnosis, because a delayed or missed diagnosis can have a negative impact on their development, as well as their social and community participation.

A late diagnosis might mean that an Autistic girl misses out on funding and access to early intervention services, which have been shown to have a very positive effect on child development.

Many school-age Autistic girls often don’t meet the criteria for learning supports because they may mask their autism, show high level language skills and/or not display disruptive behaviour.

A late diagnosis can also contribute to experiences of poor mental health. Many Autistic girls and women are diagnosed with anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other types of mental health concerns.

Many Autistic women are not diagnosed until their children are diagnosed with autism. Without a diagnosis and the appropriate support, Autistic mothers can experience stigma, social isolation, anxiety and depression.

If they have difficulty understanding relationships and/or the real meaning behind what people say or do, Autistic girls and women may also be at increased risk of bullying, verbal abuse and sexual or physical violence.

For Autistic women and girls to thrive, greater understanding and support is needed across all areas of their lives, including education, healthcare, employment and the NDIS.

We are advocating for improved: 

• Access to diagnosis, including the development of assessment tools more sensitive to identifying Autistic women and girls 
• Services and supports that understand and can meet the needs of Autistic women and girls. 

Autistic people are more likely than non-Autistic people to identify as transgender or gender diverse. They are also more likely to experience gender dysphoria, which is the distress a person may experience around their assigned gender, their body, or how their gender is perceived. There isn’t a conclusive reason for this link, because research in this area is still developing. Regardless, Autistic transgender and gender diverse people are a valid and substantial part of the Autistic community.  

Unfortunately, the discussion around the differences between Autistic women and men frequently doesn’t include Autistic transgender and gender diverse people. There is currently not enough research available for us to know how transgender and gender diverse Autistic experiences fit with the experiences of cisgender Autistic women and girls. 

For this reason, this page focuses primarily on the research around cisgender Autistic women and girls compared to cisgender Autistic men and boys, although Autistic transgender and gender diverse people may still identify with some of the information on this page based on their experiences of social expectations of gender. We don’t intend to ignore the experiences of Autistic transgender and gender diverse people through this discussion. Ideally in future there will be more research exploring the experiences of transgender and gender diverse Autistic people – allowing the discussion around gender differences to fully include everybody.