The Lost Girls of Autism

‘A truly fascinating must-read’ – Elinor Cleghorn, bestselling author of Unwell Women
Winner of the Popular Science Award from the British Psychological Society
A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph and New Scientist

The history of autism is male. It is time for women and girls to enter the spotlight.

For decades, our understanding of autism has been based on stereotypes of ‘socially awkward’ men and boys. But this isn’t because autism doesn’t affect women; it is because the system built to identify it has completely failed them. This blind spot has left generations of women and girls misunderstood and misdiagnosed.

In The Lost Girls of Autism, leading neuroscientist Gina Rippon challenges this biased view of autism and explores the female autistic experience. She reveals how girls on the spectrum learn to ‘hide in plain sight’ by camouflaging to fit in. Drawing on decades of research and powerful first-person accounts, Rippon shows how the female autistic brain is ‘differently different’ and urges us to give these lost girls their rightful place on the spectrum.