Do aspie males have a harder time than aspie females ?

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I agree with the person that said people that say AS people don't have empathy are wrong.

Maybe not the typical kind of empathy, but many of us do have alot, and in many cases more than NT's.

Without more extensive study and statistical information it would be higly difficult and unlikely whether it can be proven that males or females have things more or less difficult. What I would suggest is that Males and Females with AS have life more difficult in comparison to their NT peers. For instance the ability to cope, articulate in social situations with give and take dialogue. Also, I think as Dr. Tony Attwood pointed out in his article,

The Pattern of Abilities and Development of Girls with Asperger's Syndrome

By DR. TONY ATTWOOD
September, 1999

There is no proven fact by a study that I know of that says one gender has more problems with AS. We both have the normal symptoms, in my opinion.

From what I can tell, both male and female Aspies are more likely than NTs to be subject to:

* Bullying
* Exclusion
* General teasing
* Manipulation

I do believe that a lot of females with AS go undiagnosed for long periods of time because of the "mob" nature of little girls. In general, girls do seem to be more socially assertive in the elementary grades. From second grade onward, I always felt as if there was a "group mind" at work amongst the girls in my classes to keep adding to the size and power of the group. Girls were encouraged to wear the same type of shoes, listen to the same music, etc. I remember being lectured by gaggles of Popular Girls when I was in grade school on how I needed to start wearing THIS brand and listening to New Kids On The Block and "get over Star Wars". They had a vested interest in making everyone the same.

I don't see as much of this in boys. Boys have other methods of exclusion: they tend to shun those who are unathletic, short, immature in some way (such as having a high voice), or have somewhat substandard hygiene. Bullying among boys tends more toward the physical, so it is noticed more than girl bullying which tends to be more verbal.

That said, I do not think that one gender can be said to have a "harder time" with AS than the other. The social expectations are different for boys and girls, and normally by the time children start school, they have been socialized and indoctrinated by their parents to some degree. This results in different social trends.

I think that girls with AS are slightly more likely to be "adopted" by a mothery classmate who will guide them through the social maze to some degree. This does not necessarily mean they have easier lives. Everyone is different.

The stuff I used to read, before Tony Attwood wrote that thing, said that autistic women tended to have more neurological problems than autistic men and were less able to deal with the world. Then the new thing I hear these days is that autistic women are more able to deal with the world and less likely to be diagnosed. I'm not sure whether either one is true or not.

Bluejay, I quite agree. The article seemed too simple a summation of a large issue. However, some points may be valid for some women/girls.

And I agree that AS women are more often misdiagnosed simply because many of the OBVIOUS criteria look differently in women. As I understand, females are less often the "little professors" as sometimes many males seem to be.

I think it would simply be safe to say that we have the same disorder, but women and men might just have it differently. I mean, there's enough scientific research out there stating that the NT male and female brains are different. Why is this not so for Aspies?

*tosses in my two cents as well* I think it would depend on several factors really...

One: The severity of AS. If you had a male with less symptoms and a female with severe symptoms then the statement that males have a harder time might not be true.

Two: Varying factors like religion, sexual preference, etc. might make it harder for one gender to find a mate. This could however apply for both genders so that factor is rather even.

Three: Personality and Likes. How you interact with people can depend on how many people you can connect with. Like me for example, unless someone has an interest in games and anime then I have a hard time communicating with them. The only time I've ever been in a place where more than one person in a span of several years accepted me was an anime convention. Otherwise I've only had three friends in all of my eighteen years (none of whom I have now). So for example if I'd gravitated toward a fascination that was more 'girly' I might have more friends. Might not. I can't really say. But your interests and how you communicate them may effect how hard of a time you have getting along.

For me this has never been an easy thing and its been pretty impossible for me to keep friends. And the only relationship I ever had failed miserably. I don't really think you can say AS men have it worse, I think it varies from person to person. SOME guys may have it worse, SOME girls may have it worse. In the end does it really matter? All who have AS know the difficulties it can cause in relation to socializing and forming relationships with other people.

Yes, but the thing is that from my experience, most girls with AS do not have it as severely as their male counterparts. Their troubles are caused by something unrelated to AS syndromes while mine are caused by AS syndromes. That is from my experience.

Hmm. I'm trying to think of the various autistic women and men I have known.

There is a group of women for whom there are significant differences between them and how most autistic men are portrayed as. They are like Liane Willey and that Tony Attwood article. Often more of an ability to "fake it" than many autistic men.

There are also a smallish number of autistic guys who are like the above women.

There is also a group of women who seem about the same as the (male) autism stereotypes.

But when I was in special ed, there was no appreciable difference between the autistic boys and girls really. At least no more difference than any of the same gender had from each other.

What I was saying was that women in the category who are the same as autistic men are generally portrayed... are more likely to be called something other than autistic even if showing the exact same traits. I was not discussing the women who are different from that particular stereotype in a Liane Willeyish way.

(You can count me in the group of women that has zero ability to "fake it".)

Fake what?