Aspergers sex ratio

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We all know that aspergers in females are underdiagnosised and I defiently believe that. Some of you believe that the male to female aspergers ratio is 1:1 because females are so underdiagnosed. I dont think thats true. I dont know any of the precise numbers here: the only thing I know is that the ratio is 4:1 for the entire diagnosed spectrum. I would think that the ratio for females with aspergers would be the same rate as females with full blown autism. Unless females with full blown autism are underdiagnosed too? Id just think the symptoms are a lot more obvious and a lot harder to miss. I dont know the numbers for that demographic, but Im very sure its not 1:1.

So whenever people are saying that they think that the sex ratio is really 1:1, it doesnt make sense to me. If it really is, then that would show a trend that as you become more higher functioning there is an increased rate female autism. Dont get me wrong, that could be the case, there needs to be more research done as well as improved methods of diagnosis with aspies in general.

In terms of diagnosis, its all over the place, its being said that aspies are underdiagnosied, overdiagnosised, who knows??

I think it's closer to 2:1.

It could be in the area of 3:1 from what I can remember. I'm puzzeled as to why ASD's are diagnosed alot more often in males than females. Could somebody elaborate?

If I can't have a conversation and have people speak for me I'm shy and fragile. It's okay for girls to not talk and be shy and girls seem less likely to have inward explosions than outward explosions. Girls also have obsessions that are seen as gender appropriate but maybe not age appropriate (books, ponies, cartoons...)

Do you mean more likely?

Yes.

I agree.

Now that the statement has been cleared up, I understand.

I have an interest in politics and self defense techniques, and that is seen as age and gender appropriate. But what is abnormal is that I can ramble on about them for hours. Also it is abnormal for a male to be shy especially towards women. I rarely show emotion and that may seem abnormal as well.

In addition to what the other posters brought up, people just tend to perceive males and females differently, to the extent that they could act exactly the same and still be perceived differently.

There was a study a while back which examined the phenomena of men earning more in the workplace. Traditionally the reasons given for this were that women spent more time away from work because they had more family obligations. However this study documented the earnings of female to male transexuals. They found that once these females virilized and presented as men, their incomes generally increased and they were more likely to be promoted, despite no changes to their actual workplace performance.


Most people don't realize I'm female online, but I've noticed that in most forums where my sex is more explicitly indicated by my user name, I'm treated differently.

Maybe that study took place during the time where our society in its infinite brillance discriminated against and imposed double standards on the female population. Luckily today that is no longer true for the most part. Men are expected to like and do certain things. For example, men are supposed to know how to fix cars, I have no clue on how to do that.

But back to the OP's statement. I think DSM-V will clear up the diagnosis process.

I think it's logical if girls with low functioning autism are in a ratio published as 1 in 5 then the gender ratio is likely to be similar for high functioning. It's unlikely nowadays that low functioning autism is missed in girls.

There's no clear cut. It could well be that females are judged more functioning as well.

Iirc, Aspie-quiz found that the amount of "likely an aspie" males & females were the same, but diagnosed females scored on average 10 points higher than the males.

If that were true then the gender ratio of low functioning autistics would be closer to 1:1 and we know this is not the case. There is no logic if there is a genetic skew for boys on the lower end of the spectrum only.

As I said, females could be getting judged more functional all across the spectrum.

My 9 year old daughter has serious behavior issues but gets away with it more at school than a boy would. She is mainstreamed and when she has a meltdown others try to help her. My 6 year old son does the same thing and he is considered disrespectful and gets punished. My daughter has a behavior plan and my son does not yet. She is lower functioning than my son but gets away with more. I expect though this will change in the next couple of years when girls tend to expect all girls to act the same.

It was a recent study. But my point is not to say that women have it harder. My point is to highlight the fact that how people perceive and interpret us, still depends highly on the context of our sex, one way or another.