Understand ASD differences in women for accurate referral, diagnosis, accommodations

Abstract

Leo Kanner (1943) and Hans Asperger (1944), whose studies included only boys, initially and independently identified autism, noting three basic characteristics: (1) social difficulties, (2) communication problems, and (3) repetitive and restrictive activities. But it wasn’t until 1980 that the term “autism” appeared in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders‐III. Not until 1994 did Asperger's syndrome, or high‐functioning autism, appear in the DSM‐IV. And in the 2013 DSM‐5, Asperger's syndrome disappeared, merging into the integrated category of autism spectrum disorder.