Supporting and making visible Women’s Autism

Women exhibit a higher prevalence of mental health problems across ages and social groups, with a
multiplicative effect of accumulated experiences of inequality. In the field of autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) women are also more vulnerable to emotional and social problems, with a high risk of
victimization. They also experience complex barriers to access screening, diagnosis and therapeutic
support. In the study of autism, there is still a predominant androcentric perspective that invisibilises
the female collective.

After the completion of the project, the main expected outcome will be a significant change in the
clinical care of girls, adolescents, and women on the autism spectrum, a radical transformation of
how screening and diagnosis in ASD is approached in Spain. If previously primary health care, mental
health, and educational professionals had neither specific training nor gender-sensitive screening
tools, the use of VISIBLE questionnaires with the necessary training, will lead to a qualitative
improvement in the detection and diagnosis . This will contribute to the reduction of under-diagnosis
in females and facilitate early access to specialized psychosocial and educational support services.
With this we expect a better prognosis in the medium and long term in relation to the well-being and
quality of life of this group. Moreover, this change will also open the door to the creation of programs
and services with a gender perspective in the public and private healthcare systems in Spain.