Girls with Autism More Likely to Face Challenges with Daily Living
DO AUTISTIC men and boys face fewer difficulties in coping with life’s challenges than their female counterparts?
According to a recent study published in Journal Autism Research, autistic girls and women are more inclined to challenges with organization, planning and other life skills.
The study was led by a team of researchers within the parent organization for understanding ASD at the George Washington University.
he study was also touted to be the largest to date that examines executive functions that include the ability to design plans in conjunction with being organized.
However, smaller tasks such as dressing up and performing daily activities were also examined as part of the study.
A renowned psychologist at the Center for ASD and study author states: “The goal of the study was to analyze the situations looking at real-time skills, not the clinically used behavioral diagnostics in order to understand what people actually do in their daily lives.”
Surprisingly, the author states “We subjected parents to a brief interview to understand about their child’s functioning and girls were seen to struggle more with these basic skills.”
These findings came as a surprise due to two widely known facts:
- An assumption that girls fare better in communication skills
- An assumption that girls are better at socializing
Nevertheless, the findings revealed these are not always true, varying from individual to individual.
Further reported data from parents was collected from several rating-scale agencies. Males and females were assigned to different groups depending on their ages.
Additionally, the groups were holistically matched for their autistic symptoms in correlation with their age and intelligence factors.
The findings showcase a growing trend among researchers to identify how different aspects of autism symptoms affect individuals differently.
The autism ratio of male to female is 3:1. This has resulted in a larger dataset that has a focus on male traits and their challenges.
The researchers of the study suggest the validity of disproportionate data in the male to female ratio, where enrolments of males are in greater numbers.
The director of the Center for ASD, Lauren Kenworthy, makes an important point, “Understanding about autism has taken a completely different turn and has a predominant upper hand on males, a situation in similar lines to heart disease, which is overwhelmingly male.” Lauren co-led the study and is a senior author.
Lauren further stresses the importance of knowing the unique aspects in females, as the treatments and other related signs are positioned towards males.
Researchers suggest a glaring problem that is lying outright! A lack of specific information may result in delays or misdiagnosis. It might also result in improper intervention, which can have a drastic effect on the outcome.
A recent study has highlighted the criticality of having early information and interventional ASD procedures.
Dr. Kenworthy further adds, “The focus of our clinical research and trials is to successfully care for autistic children irrespective of their gender whilst equipping them with necessary skills and strategies that are necessary to succeed in their daily lives.”
The study also highlights that the commonly assumed facts about the difficulties a female child with ASD faces may be wrong. Dr. Kenworthy says, “More time needs to be spent if one wants to help the female autistic children thrive.”
The doctor concludes by saying, “A need to enhance our understanding of the way our biological differences affect us is crucial for long-term success.”