Does anybody have experience of girls with Autism?

[ThreeDaughtersLoveSandwiches]

Hi

My DD1(11) is currently waiting to be seen by the Neuro-development team at CAMHS due to issues that the school and I have noticed.

I came across an article about girls with Autism and DD1 does seem to have some of these traits. I have been told by somebody in the past that they thought DD1 was Autistic but her teacher dismissed it out of hand.

Would it be worth mentioning my thoughts? Would I be taken seriously?

Here is the link that I found

www.autismhelp.info/what/autism-and-girls/categories,id,1008,1-1.aspx

Take a look at this... NonVerbal Learning Disability presents in a very similar way to autism (specifically high functioning autism/Asperger Syndrome). Bee was diagnosed with ASD when she was 2y5, but after some intense neuropsychological testing last month (7y7), her diagnosis was revised to NLD with complicating co-morbids (anxiety, obsessive behaviours, profound ADHD, severe processing delays).

I would definitely raise your concerns, but in the framework of "these are the behaviours we are seeing, these are the areas that concern us" instead of "this is what I think she should be diagnosed with". Bring specific and concrete examples, ABC descriptions of particularly challenging behaviours, and even video evidence if you find it challenging to describe the specifics.

Many (most) professionals don't take kindly to parents walking into an assessment "knowing" what the diagnosis is, and even less kindly to being told, but if you spoon feed them the information they need to hear, they'll lap it up.

WRT the teacher dismissing autism, teachers are trained and qualified to neither diagnose nor dismiss neurodevelopmental disorders. Leave it to the pros, and the parents...

You can certainly mention them but don't push for a particular diagnosis. CAMHS don't want to be told want to think.

People are increasingly realising that autism can be harder to spot in girls. Look at the NAS website too.

Thank you both for your replies. There have been concerns about her since year 3 (she saw a play therapist due to friendship issues) and it is only now in year 6 that they are looking into what might be causing it. Her learning mentor (again due to friendship issues) has mentioned possible learning difficulties as she finds it hard to retain information.

I will have a look at the sites you have suggested thank you.

I have a nearly 11 yr old daughter with Asd, she is in main stream school and with the right support she can cope academically.

She wasnt diagnosed until she was 9 and the whole procsss took a long time.
I posted an article on here a couple of weeks ago about autism and girls. I will try to find it later for you and do a link.

I have to go out now but will be back

I have but DD is quite severe and so doesn't really fit the picture of a girl who is hard to DX. :)

I have an almost 6yr old DD with ASD

Won't be able to link articles etc as on phone until later this evening, but will be back to thread with those later if you like?

Thank you. One of the reasons Autism is on my mind is that someone I know said DD1 had similar characteristics to her Autistic DSS.

She doesn't seem to understand personal safety, she was out playing last year and went for a walk with a stranger through a wooded area while he walked her dog.

She also doesn't understand personal space and will sit or stand very close to people she doesn't really know.

She finds it difficult to read other people's actions, for example she will yap away to someone about a subject they know nothing about or that makes no sense but doesn't realise that they aren't even listening.

She has very poor maths skills and even if she learns something will more often than not forget it. I asked her to look in my purse to see if I had £1.50 for a toll bridge and she couldn't work it out even though I had 5 x 20p and 1 x 50p.

She has issues with eating. She doesn't know when to stop so can end up eating a lot plus she keeps on stealing food and can't tell me why. She was caught stealing from her friends lunch boxes at school a couple of years ago.

She is going up to secondary school in September and it is worrying me that there won't be the help in place for her.

Thanks for reading

TDLS welcome Sounds like your dd1 may need neurodevelopmental assessment plus assessment from Ed Psych to see what is causing difficulty with maths. Be warned this will take ages. In the meantime I would advise keeping a log of behaviours that give cause for concern, plus their triggers. Close liaison with SENCO at present and next school. Must have been terrifying when she went off with a stranger.

He came to my house and told me the following day. He said he was concerned because she seemed to be very trusting.

I have had appointments with MAST and an initial appointment with CAMHS so far. I have been told there will be a meeting this term that will include someone from both schools plus her learning mentor. If it wasn't for her pushing I don't think we would have even got this far.

Thank you for your tips I will start keeping a record.

I have sent you an inbox message.

This is the article I found in the SEN magazine

www.senmagazine.co.uk/articles/1157-is-autism-different-for-girls

Hi. Autism presents differently in girls. I have a year 10 girl who has just been diagnosed. No teacher has any clue and on meeting her she does not present as ASD yet she most certainly is. Girls learn to socialise or look as if they are socialising. Quite often they latch onto a friend who they use to guide them through life but either they can get too reliant, or a burden, or worse still, the friend can become too controlling. From what you have said, she does sound as if she has a something. Deffo worth flagging it up with SENCo of senior school as she might require careful handling over transition. The only thing I would say though is quite often the kids you thought would have trouble at secondary sail through year 7 and the one that were thought to be fine often those who had had a very happy primary time, take ages to settle.

NAS information on girls/women on the spectrum

Ineed's link is also very good

and as Flapping says, girls present their autism very differently at times, especially if they are verbal. they learn to mimic at a very early age, and often their lack of social skills is put down to being shy, obsessions/fixations are put down to following a fashion and so on.

they often fall under the radar in school, but once puberty starts, the hormones have a profound effect and often it ain't great.

All children who have an IEP get the opportunity to join the extended transition program at her new school. This means that they get 5 days instead of just the one.

I have been finding everything a bit difficult lately to be honest and really need to remind myself that she finds a lot of stuff really hard and doesn't always understand.

I found out today that she has drawn on her bedroom door, it is so frustrating as we live in a rented house yet she is still doing stuff like this!