Are there gender specific characteristics of autism?
Lily (Teacher)
Throughout 15 years of class teaching in primary and secondary schools and 11 years of one to one or small group tutoring, in schools and in pupils’ homes, the vast majority of children professionally diagnosed as autistic that I have taught have been boys. I have met many girl children, in school, who are provided with extra academic support, categorised as children with SEN and ‘suspected’ of having autism, but who haven’t been investigated as such, as a result of either their parent’s reluctance to have them tested, or the school’s neglect to do so.
Considering both the statemented and ‘suspected’ children with autism as a whole, in my experience, no two children with autism, whether born as biological boys or girls have displayed symptoms and behaviours that I could somehow describe as stereotypical of individuals with autism. I have found autism to be a biological mindset that is impossible to attribute standard characteristics to, in the same way that I feel been able to ascribe certain reactions and behaviours to children professionally certified as dyslexic. Therefore the term ‘spectrum of autism’ is a very helpful one and a good starting point from which to try to grasp the very broad range of mental attitudes and abilities that one may come across when interacting with an autistic child. However, as a very broad generalisation, in my experience, more often than not, girls of autism of any age could be noticed in class as ‘different’ more as a result of displaying extreme shyness or withdrawal whereas boys with autism have nearly all wanted, tried or succeeded in engaging with me and in class activities immediately, in the first instance, even if they could not sustain this for long.
