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'gender incoherence' and Austism

James

A friend is reading Hendrickx's Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder (2015) and highlighted the following section. I have put it in this discussion board because I wonder what people's responses are.

Hendrickx writes "testosterone levels in women with autism were higher than control samples and that these women displayed more masculinised characteristics. It also found that men with autism presented more feminised characteristics, indicating that rather than women with autism being more masculinised per se, both genders may be more androgynous and represent a 'gender defiant disorder'. They go on o suggest that, 'gender incoherence in individuals with ASD is to be expected and should be regarded as one reflection of the wide autism phenotype.""

The frequently cited reference for this passage, omitted for readability, is Bejerot et al, ' The extreme male brain revisited: gender coherence in adults with autism spectrum disorder' (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../)

Parents

  • Very interesting study. Although the study itself isn't that recent (2012) I wasn't previously aware of it. It helps to explain some of my previously unexplained health issues. The study also cites some earlier research stating "hormonal studies of children with ASD have shown elevated androgens, especially in girls and females with ASD often report androgen-related conditions in adulthood"

    I'm female and suffered from severe acne for many years, starting in my teens and persisting well into my forties. After usual types of treatment failed I was told it was caused by hormonal factors, specifically too much testosterone. I was put on medication, to reduce the testosterone and other androgens, and remained on that for many years.

    I also had the ovarian cysts related to too much testosterone. Aged 30 I experienced premature ovarian failure and was told I wouldn't be able to get pregnant (not that I wanted to). I was post menopausal by the age of 32.

    I did not know until now that any of this was autism related. Another unexplained issue from my past finally clicks into place Thinking

Reply

  • Very interesting study. Although the study itself isn't that recent (2012) I wasn't previously aware of it. It helps to explain some of my previously unexplained health issues. The study also cites some earlier research stating "hormonal studies of children with ASD have shown elevated androgens, especially in girls and females with ASD often report androgen-related conditions in adulthood"

    I'm female and suffered from severe acne for many years, starting in my teens and persisting well into my forties. After usual types of treatment failed I was told it was caused by hormonal factors, specifically too much testosterone. I was put on medication, to reduce the testosterone and other androgens, and remained on that for many years.

    I also had the ovarian cysts related to too much testosterone. Aged 30 I experienced premature ovarian failure and was told I wouldn't be able to get pregnant (not that I wanted to). I was post menopausal by the age of 32.

    I did not know until now that any of this was autism related. Another unexplained issue from my past finally clicks into place Thinking

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