I don’t fit because the world is
made for people who think differently.
A different way of perceiving, thinking and being in the world. A classroom that understands this does not adapt as an exception — it designs for everyone from the start.
We can help.
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Women and autism
For decades, autism was studied mainly in boys. The diagnostic criteria and the tests were built from male samples, and that has left many girls and women out. The result is persistent under-diagnosis: they are diagnosed later, or never at all.
Los estudios coinciden: las mujeres se diagnostican de media varios años más tarde que los hombres, incluso con rasgos similares. No es que el autismo sea más leve en ellas — es que se expresa y se oculta de forma diferente. A esto se le llama el fenotipo femenino del autismo.
La clave es el camuflaje o masking: un conjunto de estrategias, conscientes o no, para esconder los rasgos autísticos y parecer neurotípica. Estudiar cómo interactúan los demás y copiarlo, imitar gestos y expresiones, forzar el contacto visual, ensayar conversaciones, aprender frases hechas. Funciona de cara afuera, pero tiene un coste enorme: agotamiento, ansiedad y problemas de salud mental. Las mujeres autísticas puntúan de forma consistente más alto en camuflaje que los hombres.
That is why many girls go unnoticed or are misdiagnosed: it gets read as shyness, perfectionism, anxiety, ADHD or an eating disorder. Their intense interests tend to be more socially “acceptable” — animals, reading, a TV series — so they do not draw attention, even though they are just as absorbing.
What we can do in the classroom: do not assume she “copes well” because she seems calm; watch for exhaustion after social effort; listen to families; and know that the classic tests, such as the ADOS, can fall short with the female profile. Complementary instruments exist for picking it up, such as the CAT-Q, which measures camouflaging, and the GQ-ASC, designed around the female phenotype.
In their own words.
“I respect myself more now. I don’t need to work at fitting in.”
“Given the right circumstances, being different is a superpower.”
“I am different, not less. The world needs all kinds of minds.”
- Mesibov, G. & Shea, V. (2010). The TEACCH Program in the Era of Evidence-Based Practice. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
- Schopler, E., Mesibov, G. & Hearsey, K. (2004). Structured Teaching in the TEACCH System. Springer.
- Gray, C. (2010). The New Social Story Book. Future Horizons.
- Bondy, A. & Frost, L. (1994). The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). Focus on Autistic Behaviour.
- Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A. & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind'? Cognition, 21(1).
- Bargiela, S., Steward, R. & Mandy, W. (2016). The Experiences of Late-diagnosed Women with ASC: the Female Autism Phenotype. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
- CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0. Wakefield, MA.
- Confederación Autismo España (2024). Guía para la escolarización del alumnado con TEA.
- Consejería de Educación del Principado de Asturias — Educastur (2020). Guía para la atención educativa del alumnado con TEA.
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