{"id":11765,"date":"2025-07-19T17:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T17:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/?p=11765"},"modified":"2025-07-19T17:12:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T17:12:16","slug":"is-autism-more-common-in-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/blog\/is-autism-more-common-in-boys\/","title":{"rendered":"Autism in Boys vs. Girls: Breaking the Myths and Biases"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Autism is diagnosed <strong>3 to 4 times more often<\/strong> in boys than in girls. According to the CDC, in 2022, autism was identified in <strong>49.2 per 1,000 boys<\/strong> vs. <strong>14.3 per 1,000 girls<\/strong>\u2014a 3.4:1 ratio.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That means roughly <strong>1 in 20 boys<\/strong> and <strong>1 in 70 girls<\/strong> receive an <a href=\"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/blog\/why-is-autism-diagnosis-so-expensive\/\">autism diagnosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why the gap? Two fresh perspectives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Underdiagnosis &amp; \u201cmasking\u201d in girls<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong>Girls often learn social cues early on and quietly adapt\u2014hiding routines or <a href=\"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/blog\/stimming-in-autism\/\">stimming<\/a> in ways that seem typical. Experts now say many autistic girls fly under the radar because they don\u2019t fit the classic \u201cmale\u201d autism profile. The result? Estimates suggest nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wellness\/2025\/04\/23\/autism-symptoms-rates-diagnosis-treatment\/\">80% of autistic females<\/a> remain undiagnosed by age 18.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Biological resilience &amp; diagnostic bias<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong>The <strong>female protective effect theory<\/strong> argues girls need more genetic or environmental \u201chits\u201d to show autism traits. Plus, most diagnostic tools were built around male behavior\u2014so atypical presentations in girls are sometimes overlooked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What matters? Spotting the signs early<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Girls may show softer warning signs\u2014like internalizing anxiety, sensory sensitivities, or socially acceptable stims (e.g., twisting hair). These may not trigger standard checklists for autism, delaying support. Awareness of diverse presentations is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Why Autism Looks Different in Men vs Women (And Why It\u2019s Missed)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/L3OSqEAnJLE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bottom line<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, autism still shows up more often in boys\u2014but new research indicates <strong>girls are under-identified<\/strong>, not less likely to be autistic. Bridging that gap means updating assessments and valuing all ways autism shows up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking for help? <a href=\"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/\">Able Stars<\/a> offers <a href=\"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/locations\/aba-therapy-in-maryland\/\">autism services in Maryland<\/a>, featuring school-based and <a href=\"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/aba-services\/in-home-aba-therapy\/\">home-based ABA therapy<\/a>. If you\u2019re seeking compassionate, tailored support, our programs can make a real difference. Contact us today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Autism is diagnosed 3 to 4 times more often in boys than in girls. According to the CDC, in 2022, autism was identified in 49.2 per 1,000 boys vs. 14.3 per 1,000 girls\u2014a 3.4:1 ratio.&nbsp; That means roughly 1 in 20 boys and 1 in 70 girls receive an autism diagnosis. Why the gap? Two&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[63],"class_list":["post-11765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autism","tag-autism"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ablestarsabatest2.bycws.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}