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Abstract

There is a stark imbalance in the number of girls being diagnosed with high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to their male counterparts. Many of the existing explanations for this revolved around gender and alluded to a field of research that is inherently male biased. However, the influence of gender, as a social construct, on parents’ drive to pursue a diagnosis is yet to be explored. Therefore, this study aims to explore whether the perceptions of parents of children with high functioning ASD are informed by a gender bias, and whether this has an impact on girls with ASD being under-diagnosed. The parents of both boys and girls with high-functioning ASD took part in semi-structured interviews, and three key themes were found. One theme, ‘barriers to diagnosis not associated with gender’, highlights issues that prevent and delay the diagnosis of both boys and girls. The two remaining themes, ‘poor understanding of ASD in girls’ and ‘the effect of social constructs of gender’ provide evidence of how the gender-biased parental perceptions of ASD contribute to the under-diagnosis of girls with high-functioning ASD. These findings add to the growing evidence that the ingrained male bias in the understanding of high-functioning ASD leaves girls at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving a diagnosis, with parental perceptions a novel research focus. At a time when gender equality is as topical as ever, these findings also highlight an area of inequity in need of reform.

Course: Childhood and Youth Studies - BA (Hons) - C1989F

Date Deposited: 2022-04-08

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13887.html