Date Time
Call for autistic girls to be supported in post-covid return to school
To mark UN Autism Awareness Day on Friday April 2, researchers are calling for the needs of autistic girls to be better supported during the transition back to secondary school after the coronavirus lockdown.
Until recently, autism was thought to affect many more boys than girls – however, this gap has begun to close in recent years, and the ratio is now thought to be one girl for every three boys. Recent figures indicate that 21% of autistic pupils in English schools are girls.
Although the needs of autistic girls and boys are similar, there are also some important differences. When compared to autistic boys, girls tend to be more anxious, be more motivated to make friends, and mask their difficulties by demonstrating better social communication and interaction skills.