Swedo describes ASD as a disorder of social reciprocity.

FORBES: Is Being Female Protective Against Autism?

Often, the symptoms of ASD appear as extreme shyness or anxiety in girls, masking that they may not be responsive to the social cues of others.

CNN: How girls and boys differ when it comes to autism

There is some evidence that among this subgroup, girls have better social skills than higher-functioning boys with ASD and so are not diagnosed as readily.

CNN: How girls and boys differ when it comes to autism

The sex ratio in ASD approaches 1-to-1 as the degree of cognitive impairment increases.

CNN: How girls and boys differ when it comes to autism

Karin Hill credits play-partner sessions for helping her daughter Natalie, who was flagged as high-risk for ASD at age 1.

CNN: Autism: What we know right now

Girls may be different than boys with ASD in their lived experience of the disability as well.

CNN: How girls and boys differ when it comes to autism

The social-cultural adaptations that females are under more pressure to adapt to than males, are a key issue in why females may be missed in a diagnosis, however the androgyny and anorexia association may also contribute as factors to behavioral impairments associated with ASD, because of social-cultural pressures to adapt to gender roles that androgynous individuals may not be comfortable with.

FORBES: Is Being Female Protective Against Autism?

Finally, the causal mechanism petitioners proposed would produce, not ASD, but neuronal death, and eventually patient death as well.

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Girls on the autism spectrum also engage in fewer repetitive behaviors such as rocking and spinning and less sensory irritability than boys with ASD.

CNN: How girls and boys differ when it comes to autism