I think the starting point for under-diagnosis is the relatively recent understanding of this disorder in the english speaking world. As with most diseases, medicine deals first with the men, then with the women (heart disease has seen the same history of under-diagnosis in women, but that trend has started to be corrected).

My sister and my mom both have AS so I am well aware of what it seems like in women and girls (They are from the undiagnosed generations, I think both have heard about the syndrome. I told my sister I though she had it– there was context and it seemed like a very appropriate moment to tell her because her challenges were impacting her career and had created a couple of life threatening situations– and she seemed relieved to have a name for the challenges in her life and to hear exactly what the challenges were… I think it was big aha moment for he. I can tell she has been trying to learn facial expressions and trying to diversify her conversation away from her interests. My mom is less agreeable with the idea that she might have AS, but I am sure of her too. Growing up I learned not to express through my face because it created problematic interaction with both my sister and my mother. When I went away to college I began to express again and now whenever I am with my sister or my mom they become confused by my facial expressions). The obsessive interests can run a range and while they sometimes fit with our concept of girls’ interests, they can also tend toward the geeky.

I think AS can be very hard to diagnose and differentiate from other problems. The diagnosis seems to involve both quantitative and qualitative questions. When is a deep interest in something an obsessive interest? When do poor social skills become a clinical issue? Which metaphors are obvious to an NT child that are challenging for one with AS? Combine the vagueries of diagnostic criteria with the normal range of development expected at any age and diagnosis becomes very challenging. Personally, I think the diagnostic criteria are in need of some revision and that too few professionals have had enough experience of the syndrome to understand what Asperger’s really looks like. On the other hand, I think I can spot an adult woman with Asperger’s from about fifty yards away because I know it intimately. In kids I think it is much harder to be sure and a professional would need to spend a lot of time with a child to rule out other problems.

http://elvenjedi.livejournal.com/251258.html

“Because I’m sick of seeing that ‘Tribute to the Nice Guys’ thing. Retort:

“This is my tribute to the nice girls. To the nice girls who are overlooked, who become friends and nothing more, who spend hours fixating upon their looks and their personalities and their actions because it must be they that are doing something wrong. This is for the girls who don’t give it up on the first date, who don’t want to play mind games, who provide a comforting hug and a supportive audience for a story they’ve heard a thousand times…”

You know how some self-proclaimed “nice guys” throw themselves at women who throw themselves at male jerks and claim “we’re finishing last, all women want jerks instead of us!” as if the other women, their female counterparts, don’t even exist?

I wonder how much of the denial of women and girls having ASD/AS is the same kind of thing. You know, people claiming that guys with ASD/AS finish last because the cheerleaders pick the Big Men On Campus instead and “women can get sex whenever they want.”

Sounds like you might have a Sensory Processing Disfunciton (SPD).

see yourtube on research ongoing: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=98788985626&h=Y6xow

We think our 10-year old has SPD and are having a he\\ of a time avoiding a knee-jerk ADHD diagnosis, so it is off to the city of brotherly love to meet with Dr. Schaaf.

Website for our book on girls with ASDs: http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843108559

I did have diagnosed issues with auditory processing, anxiety, speech, and dyslexia though. I think autism spectrum disorder have a great deal of crossover with childhood onset anxiety/OCD issues and learning disabilities. Perhaps everything exists on a spectrum.

Noone ever hit me. It was much more subtle, and for the good part was morphing into exploitation. For instance, there was a girl who used to phone me every afternoon and ask me to give her answers to math homework. Day in, day out, for months. If I did that, she would be my friend. If I refused to do that, she would give me the guilt trip of my life. Was this bullying? Yes, it was. It was as impossible for me to stand up to her based on emotional/social blackmail as it was for my son when he was faced with physical threats.