4Autism More Likely to be Diagnosed in Boys Than in Girls.
CDC Reports
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that 4.5 times as many boys as girls are diagnosed with autism every year. Boys thus seem to be far more susceptible to the condition – but there is some evidence this may not be the case.
According to Dr. Louis Kraus, a psychiatrist who specializes in autism at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, girls with autism are better at blending in, so their symptoms are often less obvious. While boys with autism are often loners, autistic girls still try to socialize and join groups, even if they feel awkward doing so.
Boys Higher Diagnosis Rate
Consequently, boys are more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls, and they are also more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier age than are girls. Since girls’ symptoms are less noticeable, they often don’t get the needed early intervention to be successfully treated.
Diagnosed in Adulthood
Such was the case with Haley Wittenberg. The Los Angeles resident is the youngest of four siblings, and she was diagnosed with autism when she was 19, roughly a year ago. She found the diagnosis a relief, for it explained the differences she’d noticed in herself compared to her classmates or siblings. For example, she found it easier to play with little boys rather than other little girls, because the boys didn’t talk as much. They preferred to focus on their sports, and Haley found that easier than trying to talk to the girls.
Her mother, Lonnie Wittenberg, had also noted some oddities about Haley. As a baby, she never wanted to snuggle or cuddle, and she did not make eye contact. Haley had trouble being “spontaneous,” and she disliked crowded and noisy places like Disneyland. Lonnie, however, considered these to be harmless “quirks.” As she put it, “Nothing screamed autism.”
