Autism Awareness Cont.
How can it impact people differently?
There are many impacts that are main impacts talked about in the previous post that are all very specific for each individual who falls on the spectrum. Differences on the spectrum include the previous impacts talked about - some in an extreme way or some more highly influential ones day to day. When looking at ASD and the impact specifically on individuals sex.
Males vs Females ASD
Below are listed some differences that come up in comparison of ASD in males vs females. Although these are commonly what the cases are in comparison of the two, that does not mean that they do not apply to either sex. It may just be more commonly found in one sex versus another.
Self-soothing: Males tend to have more rigid behaviours when it comes to behavioural soothing like talked about previous it would be more common to see a male engaging in biting to self-sooth
Special Interests: When looking at the difference between females versus males and behaviors, you can see that boys are more likely to participate in special interests that are not seen as the social norm. For example males may have special interest in things such as trains and know everything about them. Females are more likely to take interest in something that is socially acceptable, and still have the same level of special interest that neurotypicals may have and be less extreme in the amount of information known.
Social: Socially, females are also more likely to have peer groups that they interact with on a regular basis, someone who they call their best friend. Males tend to have a more difficult time interacting with peers and making those connections as easily and accepting another person into their life as a friend especially at younger ages.
Males socially tend to be less accepted by their peers whereas females due to some differences in the way they socialize tend to be more accepted by their peers.
Emotional and Behavioural Experiences: Experiencing emotions and behaviours in response to these emotions can be different between each gender. Females tend to be more apologetic to an extreme and can sometimes be more passive and less demanding when high emotions arise. Males with ASD can be much more demanding when certain emotions arise. Although emotions can be interchanged in the type of responses for females vs males with ASD.
There are many ways that females vs males can show signs. It is seen that males tend to have an smoother process when receiving a diagnosis of ASD as some of their behaviours and signs can been more noticeable whereas females may be seen to have more internalized signs and occasionally show the more forward or more characteristic signs of ASD.
Are there any known causes and who does it impact?
As of right now there are no confirmed causes to which one is more likely to have autism. Autism affects a wide range of people and there are no specific characteristics, socioeconomic or specific race, sex, or gender. There is a high amount of individuals who are impacted by Autism. It is estimated to be found in around 1 in 36 children and 1 in 45 adults. As of right now there is no known cause to ASD and it can affect anyone. As of right now there are no known causes of ASD however, what we do know is that ASD is not a disorder that can be “caught” but rather a condition that currently has an unknown origin.