500 signatures reached
To: The Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP. Minister of State for Community and Social Care
End the gender bias in autism diagnosis - girls matter too
We call upon the UK GOVERNMENT to ensure that ALL autism assessment is fair for girls and boys.
THOUSANDS of children and young girls with autism are being misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed and suffering years of unnecessary anxiety, stress and a low quality of life because of male biased assessment and lack of awareness.
ALL KEY FRONT LINE PROFESSIONALS need to have awareness and training of how girls present differently to boys.
ALL AUTISM SCREENING TOOLS need to be FAIR, CONSISTENT and include the subtle autistic traits of girls across ALL local health authorities and health boards. No more POSTCODE lottery.
RESULTS of these actions will provide these children with earlier diagnosis, understanding and intervention to provide them with the strategies needed to help build a more brighter future for themselves.
Why is this important?
Being a parent of a beautiful child that is currently going through this process I understand the complexities that arise from having a child that has different needs. It not only affects the individual but the whole family as a unit.
Research tells us that THOUSANDS of young girls are getting misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed due to a lack of awareness and MALE BIASED assessments. Meanwhile this leaves the families crying out for help and more importantly our children suffering unnecessary anxiety, stress and a low quality of life. As a parent all we want is for our children to be safe, healthy and happy. Our children have a right to a fair assessment and service.The whole autism process is way too complicated, frustrating, inconsistent and can take years to attain a diagnosis. No diagnosis no help.
Individuals with autism are NINE times more likely to die prematurely, with suicide being the principal cause. This figure could potentially be a lot HIGHER if girls are getting missed. Many girls will have either have been dismissed as a problem child or driven by their overwhelming anxiety and depression into an already underfunded mental health service.
We as a society always focus on our physical wellbeing, yet both emotional and physical walk hand in hand. There is an urgent need for the government to address this GENDER BIAS and ensure ALL KEY PROFESSIONALS across the UK are trained and made aware of the differences. Additionally ALL AUTISM SCREENING TOOLS need to include the subtle autistic traits of girls to ensure fairness and consistency. Awareness, early diagnosis and intervention is all that is needed to help our children.
Please sign this life changing petition to ensure that no female child or adult gets overlooked or misdiagnosed and suffer unnecessarily.
http://network.autism.org.uk/knowledge/insight-opinion/interview-dr-judith-gould-women-and-girls
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15332985.2015.1031858
http://autismwomensnetwork.org/autistic-women-misdiagnosis-and-the-importance-of-getting-it-right/
http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/simons_simplex_community/autism_in_girls
http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2016/apr/05/autism-learning-disability-premature-mortality
How it will be delivered
E-mail, Facebook, twitter and word of mouth.
