People with autism who harm themselves are more than 30 times as likely as the general population to commit suicide. The risk is especially pronounced among girls and women on the spectrum.
Boys and girls with autism get virtually identical scores on three commonly used diagnostic tests, suggesting that sex doesn’t affect the scores.
One of the leading theories of autism posits that girls and women are biologically protected from the condition.
The ‘extreme male brain’ theory suggests that autism is an exaggeration of systematic sex differences in ways of thinking.
A pair of maps that depict variation in the human genome may help reveal the genetic roots of autism.
Autism doesn’t just affect boys and men, but research on the condition still predominantly focuses on them. Some scientists are finally beginning to include women and nonbinary people in their studies.
Some traits of autism are associated with obvious differences in brain structure, and the scope of these alterations may depend on the person’s sex.
This year, researchers made big headway on autism’s most perplexing questions.
Autistic women’s activity in a ‘social’ brain region tracks with the extent to which they mask their autism.
Autistic people with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity face specific challenges, from having their self-assessments dismissed to difficulties advocating for their gender needs.