The Lost Girls of Autism

‘A truly fascinating must-read’ – Elinor Cleghorn, bestselling author of Unwell Women Winner of the Popular Science Award from the British Psychological Society A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph and New Scientist The history of autism is male. It is time for women and girls to enter the spotlight. For decades, our understanding of autism has been based on stereotypes of ‘socially awkward’ men and boys. But this isn’t because autism doesn’t affect women; it is because the system built to identify it has completely failed them. This blind spot has left generations of women and girls misunderstood and misdiagnosed. In The Lost Girls of Autism , leading neuroscientist Gina Rippon challenges this biased view of autism and explores the female autistic experience. She reveals how girls on the spectrum learn to ‘hide in plain sight’ by camouflaging to fit in. Drawing on decades of research and powerful first-person accounts, Rippon shows how the female autistic brain is ‘differently different’ and urges us to give these lost girls their rightful place on the spectrum.

‘A truly fascinating must-read’ – Elinor Cleghorn, bestselling author of Unwell Women Winner of the Popular Science Award from the British Psychological Society A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph and New Scientist The history of autism is male. It is time for women and girls to enter the spotlight. For decades, our understanding of autism has been based on stereotypes of ‘socially awkward’ men and boys. But this isn’t because autism doesn’t affect women; it is because the system built to identify it has completely failed them. This blind spot has left generations of women and girls misunderstood and misdiagnosed. In The Lost Girls of Autism , leading neuroscientist Gina Rippon challenges this biased view of autism and explores the female autistic experience. She reveals how girls on the spectrum learn to ‘hide in plain sight’ by camouflaging to fit in. Drawing on decades of research and powerful first-person accounts, Rippon shows how the female autistic brain is ‘differently different’ and urges us to give these lost girls their rightful place on the spectrum.

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.

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.

A Best Book of the Year in The Telegraph and New Scientist 'A truly fascinating must-read' – Elinor Cleghorn, bestselling author of Unwell Women 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 receive no diagnosis at all. 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.

A Best Book of the Year in The Telegraph and New Scientist 'A truly fascinating must-read' – Elinor Cleghorn, bestselling author of Unwell Women 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 receive no diagnosis at all. 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.