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Autism in Boys and Girls, Women and Men Throughout the Lifespan

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The Palgrave Handbook of Male Psychology and Mental Health

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a clinical syndrome. ASD is not a distinct condition but the extreme of a continuum that goes from “normality” to “autistic conditions”. In this chapter, the huge differences in clinical expression, gender differences, as well as differences as development progresses will be discussed. To start with, we will look into the notion of developmental psychopathology in which, along with the intrinsic gender factor, the external interaction with the environment plays an important role. Then we will look closely into the different clinical expressions on the different dimensions, to subsequently look into the diagnostic difficulties that lead to late detection in women and high functioning individuals. To finally see which consequences these findings have on our diagnostic assessment, clinical management and families of those with ASD.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Expertise of Developmental Disorders, SCOS Dimence, Deventer, The Netherlands

    Patricia van Wijngaarden-Cremers

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Patricia van Wijngaarden-Cremers

Authors
  1. Patricia van Wijngaarden-Cremers
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Correspondence to Patricia van Wijngaarden-Cremers .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. UCL, London, UK

    John A. Barry

  2. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Wymondham, UK

    Roger Kingerlee

  3. Change, Grow, Live, Dagenham/Southend, Essex, UK

    Martin Seager

  4. Community Interest Company, Men’s Minds Matter, London, UK

    Luke Sullivan

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van Wijngaarden-Cremers, P. (2019). Autism in Boys and Girls, Women and Men Throughout the Lifespan. In: Barry, J.A., Kingerlee, R., Seager, M., Sullivan, L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Male Psychology and Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04384-1_16

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