Autism is different for girls...

Autism is different for girls...

Sarah Wild is headteacher at Limpsfield Grange School, a Surrey County Council special school for girls. She tells us what symptoms an autistic girl might display:

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people and the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain areas of difficulty, their condition will affect them in different ways. Asperger syndrome is a form of autism.

Boys and men have previously been more likely to be diagnosed with autism, and most of our preconceptions are based on how boys with the condition behave. So why has autism been seen as a “male” condition? It could in part be due to diagnostic tools that clinicians use to diagnose autism being boy friendly or biased, or, it could also be due in part to the fact that girls with autism behave quite differently to boys.

Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to be less social than their peers and display prominent and obvious areas of obsessive interests and compulsions. Girls with autism, however, are more able to follow or imitate social actions. When they are younger they can mimic socially appropriate behaviour, without understanding what they are doing or why they are doing it. This can have the effect of masking their difficulties.

Girls with autism are often aware of and feel the need to socially interact. They can engage in play but are often led by their peers. They may not initiate social contact but will react to it, and can appear socially passive or socially odd. They feel that they would like to have friends but do not understand how to make friends. This can cause lots of unhappiness, and can create feelings of isolation.

Social communication can be difficult, with girls not understanding why we would want to communicate with other people. Recognising facial expressions and what emotions they show can be very challenging for girls with autism, making it hard for them to read a situation. This can make people’s responses to them surprising and bewildering.

Appropriate social communication can be difficult, with the girls having little or no understanding about social hierarchies. This can result in girls with autism speaking to adults as though they were their friends, and not changing their language to suit the social situation they are in. This can cause problems at school.

Often girls on the spectrum have really good imaginations, and compared to boys with autism are relatively good at pretend play. They can have very elaborate fantasy worlds that they will spend a great deal of time indulging in. Their fantasy world can be complex and full of detail, can be very important to them, and can be sustained over long periods of time.

Their fantasy world can dominate their play; the girls might be able to talk about their world in depth, and often the line between fantasy and reality can become blurred.

Girls with autism may have very intense special interests such as horses or animals, boy bands or certain books or films. As other girls will move on with their areas of interest, girls with autism often do not. This causes gaps to appear between their social development and that of their peers, often resulting in the girls with autism becoming increasingly socially isolated.

Autistic girls may be particularly sensitive to loud noises, bright lights or touch; may hate wearing tight clothing or particular fabrics; or conversely, may love to be tucked in super tight to her clothes, or need to have her hair tied back in a very tight ponytail. Eating can be a battleground, with only certain foods and textures being acceptable. Not eating or controlling their food intake is another characteristic.

The world can be a confusing and unpredictable place for autistc girls. To minimize this, they may exert a very high level of control on their environment and the people in it. This can mean ritualised behaviour, inflexible routines and meltdowns when unplanned events occur. Autistic girls often want to please, and will spend all day at school trying very hard to do the right thing. The impact of this if often felt at home, where girls might vent their frustration and anxiety for hours at the end of every school day.

So, what can be done to help girls with autism? Clear routines and structure at home can be a great help. A timetable of what is happening, with pictures, can be very beneficial, and can help to make a girls feel less anxious. Communication is key. Make everything explicit.

Explain why you are doing something, or why you talk to someone in a certain way. Use egg timers or sand clocks to count down at the end of an activity, so that changing activity or focus does not come as a surprise. Try and identify triggers for crisis points. Create a calm box in your home, and if it looks like anxiety or anger is building use it to avoid meltdown moments. Fill it with items such as stress balls, toys that light up or reflect light, tactile toys – anything that will help. Display clear visual rules in your home and refer to them. Talk about emotions as they happen and name them to help build an understanding of how she feels physically and the label for the emotion she is experiencing.

Explain, explain, check understanding and explain again!
With the right support and guidance girls with autism can become successful, self-aware, happy and independent young people, able to live and study independently and pursue a variety of careers.