A revolutionary new understanding of autism in girls

In China, it is known as “the lonely disease”. The Japanese term translates as “intentionally shut”. Across the world, there is a perception of autistic people as aloof, socially awkward and isolated, seeming to not only lack the kind of automatic social instinct that enables successful interaction, but also the desire to achieve it. There is also a perception that autistic people tend to be men.

For decades, researchers – myself included – have thought of autism as a predominantly male condition. The more we studied boys and men, the clearer the picture of autism that emerged – or so we thought.

Today, we have come to realise that we were missing a huge piece of the puzzle all along. Not only have we been failing to recognise autism in vast numbers of women and girls – preventing them from getting a diagnosis and support – but we have now made the profound discovery that the female autistic brain works differently than the male one, especially when it comes to social motivations and behaviours. As a result, an entirely new picture of autism in girls is crystallising, forcing a radical rethink of everything we thought we knew.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, commonly diagnosed by the age of 5. Current standard diagnostic criteria refer to “persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction”, as well as “restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests to the extent that these limit and impair everyday functioning”.

The World Health Organization estimates that 1 per cent of children worldwide are autistic, but…