The history of autism is male. It is time for women and girls to enter the spotlight. When
autistic girls meet clinicians they are often misdiagnosed with anxiety depression
personality disorders or are missed altogether. Autism's 'male spotlight' means we are only
now starting to redress this profound injustice. In The Lost Girls of Autism renowned brain
scientist Gina Rippon delves into the emerging science of female autism asking why it has been
systematically ignored for so long. Generations of researchers convinced autism was a male
problem simply didn't bother looking for it in women. But it is now becoming increasingly
clear that many autistic women and girls do not fit the traditional male model of autism.
Instead they camouflage and mask hiding their autistic traits to accommodate a society that
shuns them. Urgent and insightful this is a searching examination of how sexism has biased
our understanding of autism. Informed by the latest research in psychology and neuroscience
The Lost Girls of Autism is a clarion call for society to recognize the full spectrum of
autistic experience.
