In British Columbia, there’s an urgent need for a shift in understanding and support for neurodivergent children. Too often, they are underdiagnosed, missing the vital resources and therapy they require to thrive. Physicians and parents alike may lack the necessary up-to-date knowledge to identify non-classic profiles of neurodivergence, especially in girls. Indigenous children are often racially profiled for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) instead of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). First and second-generation immigrant children of colour often languish for years in ESL instead of being flagged and screened by school speech-language pathologists. The consequences of this misunderstanding are significant, leading to a lack of competence, reduced social and academic performance, trauma, and unfavourable outcomes in adulthood.

Beyond Behaviour Checklists

In 2013, the American Psychological Association (APA) made a pivot in diagnoses of mental health disorders from categorical (a checklist of behaviours) to a dimensional approach (what is the internalized experience, the story and context behind the behaviour) to assessment. In 2021, APA added instruction on assessing autistic women and girls to include social compensatory skills (masking), “subtle” signs, and preferences and tendencies that may be seemingly socially “normative”.

What parents should know:

  1. Autism is not a checklist of behaviours. Internet behaviour checklist for autism may not be reliable or informative.
  2. “My child can’t possibly be autistic because [insert common stereotypes of autism” is not a productive thought process or reasoning framework. For example, lack of eye contact is not a criterion for autism. That is just a common stereotype.
  3. Every autistic person is different. Your autistic child may not look like your neighbour’s autistic child.
  4. Autistic people can present as neurotypical behaviourally or be neurotypical-passing.
  5. Autistic people can be very good at masking their autistic preferences and traits.
  6. Parents of neurotypical children would not be in a situation where they spend time pondering or researching if their child is autistic, such as reading this.
  7. Medical and mental health professionals can often be outdated about the definition of autism and be ignorant about the non-stereotypical presentation of autism. After all, this stuff is relatively new (2021)

What autism can look like:

Paige Layle

Hannah Gadsby (has profanity)

Professionally-Backed Information:

Improving the Recognition of Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum

Presentation by Dr. Fitzgerald for BC Paediatric Society, but in 2024, good assessors have honed their skills and acuity far beyond the instructions in this video.