Aspie girls just wanna have fun?

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My special ed adviser, an expert in all things autism, believes that Asperger's and HFA present differently in girls. The core symptoms are still there: social illiteracy, repetitive behavior and resistance to change, sensory sensitivity. However, the particulars (or secondary symptoms like clumsiness) tend to separate Asperger's girls and boys.

Her claims about girls:
--Girl aspies are less likely to lack imaginative play. In fact, many female aspies retreat into make-believe worlds to escape from difficult social realities.
--While boy aspies tend to become obsessed with science, technology, and math, the most common obsessions in girl aspies appear to be literature and animals.
--Boy aspies are easier to diagnose because they are more likely than girl aspies to lash out.
--While boy aspies accept their lack of empathy as simply a boost to their capacity for logical thinking, girl aspies have a tendency to seek out emotional stimulation. Of course girls have the same autistic objectivity, but they are more likely to try to overcome it. This leads to many aspie girls having "morbid" interests (I have seen evidence of this on wrongplanet; no one has suggested a WP Auschwitz guys club, but the WP Auschwitz girls club, God forgive our irreverent souls, has five members). We whack ourselves over the head with tragedy to teach ourselves empathy.
--With boys, social difficulties are more likely to result from compulsions and rituals. With girls, the root of the problem is often obsessions, whether the focus is on pet subjects or people.

Now, my teacher and I agree that these are not universals; no one wants to make generalizations. However, there is a definite pattern. A pattern into which I fit almost perfectly.

Comments?

I guess that must make me a girl, then.

I am not diagnosed but if you do not mind my input; I will contribute.

-- imaginative play. This is very true of me.
-- science, technology, and math In between here...Science and Literature for me.
--Boy aspies are more likely than girl aspies to lash out. I was the girl who lashed out.
--While boy aspies accept their lack of empathy I am a girl who lacks empathy. I admit it but have trouble with acceptance.
-- With girls, the root of the problem is often obsessions This could be said of me. I personally have never viewed my obsessions as a 'problem'.

All of those are true for me, except the last one. I'm not sure what that one means exactly, so I can't make a decision one way or another.

Those are all true of me, strangely enough. It wouldn't surprise me if the symptoms differ like that for gender.

More like, GIRLS just want to have fun. Isn't that how the song goes?

Well, do you think there is often a difference between boys with Asperger's and girls (not always; no stereotypes ), not just in your particular case but in many?

Actually I should just say I think all of that relates to me. From a fairly young age (really as far back as I can remember) I've been retreating to my own secret world made up in my head, where I can be whatever I want and control the outcomes and all that.

Thanks a lot for the info and I agree. Can I join the WP Auschwitz Girls club?

I have figured boys and girls were effected differently by it. I did imaginative play as a child. I wrote stories starting in 4th grade but they were about my cat. I stopped writing and started again at age 12. but this time it was about London and 101 Dalmatians.
I had morbid interests as a kid. I did get obsessed with certain people or characters. I am obsessed with Sam and Joon now.
But I did attack other kids as a child when I got bullied.

I would say I do fit the AS girls profile even though I played with boy toys, Lincoln logs, blocks, BRIO trains, Tinker Toys, Knex, Legos, matchbox cars. But I did pretend play with them.

That describes me to a tee.