Females may be just as likely to be autistic as males but boys are up to four times more likely to be diagnosed in childhood.
The Guardian reports on new study finding published in British Medical Journal: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/feb/04/autism-women-men-diagnosis-childhood-adulthood
Research led by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden scrutinised the diagnosis rates of autism for people born in Sweden between 1985 and 2020. Of the 2.7 million people tracked, 2.8% were diagnosed with autism between the ages of two and 37.
The research calculated that in childhood, boys were diagnosed on average nearly three years earlier than girls – the median age at diagnosis was 15.9 for girls, but 13.1 for boys. Overall, boys were three to four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism under the age of 10, although girls were found to “catch up” by the time they were 20, owing to a rapid increase in autism diagnosis during adolescence.
This research confirms what we (NDSA) see in the gender split of people refered to us by the diagnostic service in Derbyshire, where we see about 60% females due to them being diagnosed later in life compared to males. Given how many people over 37 we see referred ny the diagnostic team, we think the prevalense of is likely to be much higher than 3%.
According to Guardian, the likely reson for disparity in diagnosis times for females and males are not only due to masking, but also due to male bias in the diagnostic tools that are modeled on male presentation, in line with NDSA experience.
Undiagnosed and misdiagnosed women struggle without support and vital understanding of how their brain works and often suffer with mental health ptroblem such as anxiety and depression, that could come to a crisis point.
Dr Conor Davidson, former Royal College of Psychiatrists’ autism champion and clinical lead for Leeds autism diagnostic service, said: “There are many autistic women who have not received a diagnosis, and it is vital that they are able to access a timely assessment and care if they need it.
“Psychiatrists must also be aware of the possibility of autism when they are assessing patients with mental health problems. This can be particularly important for women, whose autism may not have been picked up in childhood.”
And of course it is essential to shorten the waiting time and give access to timely autism diagnosis for both males and females.
The Guardian reports on new study finding published in British Medical Journal: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/feb/04/autism-women-men-diagnosis-childhood-adulthood
Research led by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden scrutinised the diagnosis rates of autism for people born in Sweden between 1985 and 2020. Of the 2.7 million people tracked, 2.8% were diagnosed with autism between the ages of two and 37.
The research calculated that in childhood, boys were diagnosed on average nearly three years earlier than girls – the median age at diagnosis was 15.9 for girls, but 13.1 for boys. Overall, boys were three to four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism under the age of 10, although girls were found to “catch up” by the time they were 20, owing to a rapid increase in autism diagnosis during adolescence.
This research confirms what we (NDSA) see in the gender split of people refered to us by the diagnostic service in Derbyshire, where we see about 60% females due to them being diagnosed later in life compared to males. Given how many people over 37 we see referred ny the diagnostic team, we think the prevalense of is likely to be much higher than 3%.
According to Guardian, the likely reson for disparity in diagnosis times for females and males are not only due to masking, but also due to male bias in the diagnostic tools that are modeled on male presentation, in line with NDSA experience.
Undiagnosed and misdiagnosed women struggle without support and vital understanding of how their brain works and often suffer with mental health ptroblem such as anxiety and depression, that could come to a crisis point.
Dr Conor Davidson, former Royal College of Psychiatrists’ autism champion and clinical lead for Leeds autism diagnostic service, said: “There are many autistic women who have not received a diagnosis, and it is vital that they are able to access a timely assessment and care if they need it.
“Psychiatrists must also be aware of the possibility of autism when they are assessing patients with mental health problems. This can be particularly important for women, whose autism may not have been picked up in childhood.”
And of course it is essential to shorten the waiting time and give access to timely autism diagnosis for both males and females.
