Women better at hiding autism
Women with autism are slipping through the cracks because health professionals are failing to pick up on the symptoms and the condition is being misdiagnosed.
About 40,000 New Zealanders suffer from autism and many go undiagnosed, University of Otago psychiatrist Dr David Bathgate said in a presentation to fellow specialists.
He said historically autism was often recognised in men and it was assumed the condition was uncommon in women.
“But what more research is showing is that women tend to develop social skills earlier and therefore the signs are missed because women are better at hiding it,” Bathgate said.
Auckland mother-of-two Rachael Keach, 38, discovered she had autism only after both of her sons were diagnosed. She believes her husband also presents the condition.
But for more than three decades she battled with the unknown.
“Growing up I struggled with the social things. I didn’t understand people and couldn’t fit in. People would make a joke and I didn’t get it so I’d get hurt.
“I tended to copy a lot, I started subconsciously copying accents to fit in and do what was socially required of me,” Keach said.
Then, at the age of 15 Keach was diagnosed with severe depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder. But not autism.
Keach, a straight-A student all the way through school, dropped out and shut herself off. Fast-forward 22 years, Keach found herself furiously researching the symptoms after both her sons were diagnosed. That’s when she realised she had autism.
Bathgate said Keach’s experience was not uncommon. “There is an urgent need for more training of psychiatrists on the diagnosis and management of Autism Spectrum Disorder and the mental illnesses that complicate the condition.”