In this week's podcast Dale Pickles from B Squared is joined by Sarah Jane Critchley to discuss Autism Girls, why so few are identified, the lack of support that is available and why this all needs to change.

Autism in girls is a big topic, and Sarah Jane has lots of experience, both professionally including through her work with the Autism Education Trust and personally as her daughter who is soon to be starting university has autism. Autism is one of Sarah Jane's passions. She is a member of the National Autism in Girls Forum and a contributing author to the book 'Autism in Girls' as well as her own book 'A Different Joy: The Parent's Guide to Living Better with Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD and more…'.

We talk about how, due to the different types of play, boys and girls engage in at a younger age, the traits were often hidden for girls due to how they played. Girls are often better at masking symptoms. There is no typical profile, they can all be very different, we discuss all the different things you can look for.

There are lots of girls and women now being diagnosed with autism. What can be done and where do you get support? The earlier the diagnosis/recognition, the better. A leading cause of death in late diagnosed autistic adults is suicide, with women being more at risk. More needs to be done to prevent this, and it needs to start as early as possible. We share a few tips on how to make school better for girls with autism.

Useful Links

Sarah-Jane Critchley: A Different Joy: The Parent's Guide to Living Better with Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD and more…https://www.amazon.co.uk/Different-Joy-Parents-Living-Dyslexia/dp/0993255140

I have a chapter co-written with Beth in Judith Hebron and Caroline Bond. Educating Autistic Girls https://www.amazon.co.uk/Educating-Girls-Autism-Spectrum-Developing/dp/1785924605

Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happe and Jo Egerton: Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives https://www.routledge.com/Girls-and-Autism-Educational-Family-and-Personal-Perspectives-1st-Edition/Carpenter-Happe-Egerton-Hollins/p/book/9780815377269

A Different Joy Website. Lots of useful information including a Mastermind group for autistic women – https://www.differentjoy.com

NAS Autism in girls and women online training module https://www.autism.org.uk/professionals/training-consultancy/online/women-and-girls.aspx

Scottish Autism's Women and Girls SWAN https://www.scottishautism.org/services-support/support-families/women-and-girls-online-support

Not Fine in School website http://notfineinschool.org.uk/

How to contact Sarah-Jane:

Twitter: @SarahJaneCritch

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahjanecritchley/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/differentjoy/

Email: [email protected]

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