THE Female AS profile?

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I'm aged and male and very new to Aspie-ing! I'm being described as having a "female AS profile" of quiet, reserved, reticent, non-agressive and such. What's this profile all about?? Are there any good Refs?? Should I worry more or less??

HHHMMM - why does that profile have to be female??
Putting labels and categories on things doesn't seem helpful here.

If those are your behavior traits, then it is likely that you were late diagnosed because of them.

If you/we don't cause other people problems, you/we ( as child or young person) are likely to be missed in autism diagnosis.
This is true if you/we have struggles and multiple problems in and of yourself/ourselves.
I fall in that same behavior category.

For those of us who grew up before autism was well known, there was simply no diagnosis available.

Those of us born before 1980 when Autism first appeared in DSM as "infantile schizophrenia" simply had no opportunities available to find diagnosis.

No, don't worry, that profile is the most often missed, among any other labeled group of adults as well.


Hope diagnosis is helping you improve things in your own life regardless of the funky labels.

I know it was a relief for me to find out everything was not "all my fault" and to learn that there were others like me, who understood. Best wishes!

It's pretty much just a means of diagnosing, and something for females;in particular; to look at if they are questioning whether they might have Aspergers. It is nothing for you to worry about.

The original profile/diagnostic material for Aspergers was based on how it presented/showed in male examples, as it was believed only boys could have it!

It was only when it was taken notice that there were some girls/women showing the same symptoms that they realized it wasn't gender specific. Eventually, not all that long ago more time was put into looking at us females. Which is where they found that we often present/show different than the Original profile that was based on boys.

This doesn't mean that you were supposed to be a girl or something just because you may fit the 'female' profile more. It's simply that Asperger/ASD dianostic material is still kind of evolving/changing. Since we(females) have presented in our own way AND like the the original/boy profile, it would stand to reason that there would be males that show like the 'female' one.

So like I said it's nothing to be concerned about. You may just find that your experience in regard to aspergers is more akin females vs the guys

Autism was "infantile autism" circa 1980. Most often shortened to just "autism."

"Childhood schizophrenia" was considered a separate category from autism back when this "entity" was in the diagnostic press.

It was never thought of in my case. I was diagnosed with autism in the 1960s, and I knew some other people who were diagnosed with that as well. At the time of diagnosis, I had no speech, and I was oblivious to the world. Later on, as I developed speech and "Aspie-like" traits, the diagnosis was changed to "brain-injured/brain-damaged." This was even before "minimal brain dysfunction."

Thanks to you three above. I understnd better now. It seems there is a lot of such in my "Now Aspie-ing" world view, that used to be "straight up." It's quite strange with everything "doubled up" so much. Relatedly, I'm finding myself in "The Speed.of Dark," but not doubled.

There's only one "Autism". It doesn't come in male and female versions.

It's a spectrum so boys, girls, men, women, and non-binary people can all have characteristics which are harder to interpret, but that doesn't mean women are all the same or that they need their own diagnostic criteria. If you are quiet and reserved please be assured there are lots of autistic men like you. There are also autistic women who can't mask or hide their autism like the books so often pretend.

If you're seeking a diagnosis, a good practitioner will administer objective tests so that your personality type won't interfere with the results. If you aren't seeking diagnosis, rest assured that it's perfectly normal for you to be non-aggressive and reserved.