Behind the Mask

How generations of women learned to hide autism in plain sight and why the system is only now starting to recognize them.

For years, many autistic women learned to mask their differences—blending in, being misread, and going undiagnosed. Now, those layers are finally being recognized.

For decades, autism was framed as a condition that primarily affected boys and the data seemed to support it. Boys were diagnosed at nearly four times the rate of girls. But that narrative is now being challenged, not because autism is suddenly more common in women, but because it was likely missed all along. Today, a growing body of research—and a surge in late-life diagnoses—is forcing a reevaluation of how autism presents, who gets identified, and why so many women were overlooked for years.

According to Autism Speaks, girls are still about four times less likely to be diagnosed than boys and typically receive that diagnosis later. But the gap is closing rapidly. Between 2011 and 2022, autism diagnoses in girls and women more than tripled, rising faster than in males. This isn’t a sudden increase in autism. It’s a correcti…