There ’s such a thing as “autism camouflaging” and it might explain why some people are diagnosed so late

This study is the first to offer systematic, methodologically sound evidence in support of higher camouflaging in women than men with autism. As such, these results support reports from parents or clinicians that hint at better social skills in girls with autism as compared with boys. However, as the study found evidence of men who engaged in camouflaging and women who did not, camouflaging is unlikely to constitute a uniquely female presentation of autism. There are several points that limit the scope of this study. First, the sample size was modest and only included individuals with an established diagnosis of autism who were free from intellectual disability. To study the “real world” implications of camouflaging, it would have been interesting to study people with sub-threshold autistic scores because camouflaging might be one of the reasons why they have remained below diagnostic threshold in the first place. This information might also be relevant for healthcare professionals in terms of both diagnosis and treatment. Finally, the operationalization of camouflaging may be vulnerable to subjective bias: For example, ADOS raters may be guided by implicit gender stereotypes, leading them to give inappropriately high autism scores to girls who behave in more “boyish” ways. To conclude, this study provides the first systematic definition of camouflaging in individuals with autism and shows that this behaviour is more common in women and men. These clear-cut gender dif...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Autism guest blogger Mental health Source Type: blogs