ASD - Diagnosis

Question 1

How does someone get referred for an autism diagnosis?

Answer 1

Initial signs are spotted by parent, referred to gp and then an autism assessment teams such as a child psychiatrist will see them

Question 2

What is the estimated number of people with autism?

Answer 2

Around 700,000 people in the UK, including 1 in 10 children with a diagnosis of autism

Question 3

What is the rise of diagnoses in the past 20 years?

Answer 3

787% rise in autism diagnosis

Question 4

What is the mean age of diagnosis?

Answer 4

increased from 9.6 years to 14.5 years

Question 5

What is the male to female ratio of autism?

Answer 5

3:1

Question 6

What is the mean age at which males received a diagnosis?

Answer 6

12.3 whereas females was 14.9

Question 7

Why are females diagnosed later?

Answer 7

The female autism phenotype

Question 8

What does the female autism phenotype do?

Answer 8

1. Subtle differences from conventional conceptualisations of the disorder
2. Females less likely to show overt restricted interests
3. A diagnosis focuses on difficulties with social interactions, which girls are able to mask
4. Key professionals and general public holding gender stereotypes that ASD is a male disorder
5. Current research in autism is addressing ASD in females