What adults get wrong about girls and diagnosing autismBy Lisa Jarvis / Bloomberg OpinionFor decades, autism was believed to overwhelmingly affect boys. Why do so many autistic girls fly under the radar? In the past few years, experts have particularly focused on girls’ ability to “mask” or “camouflage” their autism traits. More so than boys, the desire to blend in is strong in young girls, and might be even more powerful in autistic girls, said Gina Rippon, a British neurobiologist whose book, The Lost Girls of Autism, chronicles the ways science has overlooked girls with autism. Teachers viewed boys as having significantly more traits than girls — and consistently said girls had fewer traits than their parents identified.

Source: Taipei Times March 03, 2026 22:39 UTC