Autism And The Prevalence Of Autism - amazonia.fiocruz.br

Autism And The Prevalence Of Autism Video

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An autism diagnosis can affect people in many article source ways. For some, it can be negative and put up additional barriers to education and employment. For others, however, it can be positive and open the doors to the support that they and their family need. Whether positive or negative — or, more likely, a mix of both — there is no denying that having a diagnosis makes the difference between accessing healthcare and support, or receiving nothing at Autism And The Prevalence Of Autism.

But the journey to diagnosis is often lengthy, confusing and frustrating, which is problematic because early intervention is known to positively influence outcomes for autistic individuals and their families. The barriers to diagnosis are especially challenging for women and girls. The research community is recognizing more and more that autistic women and girls are poorly served by the current clinical criteria and typical routes to a diagnosis.

My colleagues and I sought to investigate why i n a review published in October in the Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Historically, researchers, clinicians and other experts have not viewed autism as a female condition. From the first published descriptions of autism by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger, most cases were described in boys and men.

Estimates of autism prevalence have found that boys are about Prevalencd times as likely as girls to have a diagnosis, but the ways in which these estimates are calculated likely reflect biases in our perception, assessment and diagnosis of the condition.

Prevalence estimates that reduce this bias put the sex ratio as low as 1. Even before the diagnostic odyssey begins, boys are referred for an autism diagnosis 10 times as often as girls. And even with similar levels of trait severity, women and girls are less likely to be diagnosed than boys and men. Women and girls with autism, even when they are referred, are diagnosed later than boys and men with the condition, studies show.

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This delay appears to exist despite there being no difference in how many visits they make to healthcare professionals, the age at which parents first express concern or the duration of their clinical assessments. They also experience greater stigma after they are diagnosed: For example, people are less likely to believe girls and women have autism than boys with the diagnosis. We found 13 quantitative, 6 qualitative and 1 mixed-methods paper meeting our inclusion criteria. Our analysis of these papers highlighted that in many cases, girls and women are diagnosed with autism only when certain traits, such as behavioral or language difficulties, are exaggeratedcompared with boys and young men.

This skew may Autism And The Prevalence Of Autism particularly problematic because girls and women, more often than boys and men, compensate for or mask aspects of their autism characteristics, according to many reports.

Camouflaging is a key reason why girls and women may not come to clinical attention and fail to reach diagnostic thresholds during assessments. Current male-centric ideas about autism are prevalent in our society and are detrimental to autistic girls and women and their families trying to get a diagnosis and much-needed support. There is a vital and urgent need for widespread recognition that autism occurs in both sexes and all genders. We need more research on autism in girls and women — and more effective dissemination of that knowledge to those in front-line positions, such as doctors, teachers and parents. By joining the discussion, you agree to our privacy policy.

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