Barry Carpenter - Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives

Often thought of as a predominantly male disorder, autism has long gone unidentified, unnoticed and unsupported in girls sometimes with devastating consequences for their social and mental well-being. As current research reveals a much more balanced male-to-female ratio in autism, this book provides crucial insight into autistic girls experiences, helping professionals to recognize, understand, support and teach them effectively.

Drawing on the latest research findings, chapters consider why girls have historically been overlooked by traditional diagnostic approaches, identifying behaviours that may be particular to girls, and exploring the camouflaging that can make the diagnosis of autistic girls more difficult. Chapters emphasize both the challenges and advantages of autism and take a multidisciplinary approach to encompass contributions from autistic girls and women, their family members, teachers, psychologists and other professionals. The result is an invaluable source of first-hand insights, knowledge and strategies, which will enable those living or working with girls on the autism spectrum to provide more informed and effective support.

Giving voice to the experiences, concerns, needs and hopes of girls on the autism spectrum, this much-needed text will provide parents, teachers and other professionals with essential information to help them support and teach autistic girls more effectively.

Barry Carpenter, CBE, OBE is professor of mental health in education at Oxford Brookes University, UK.

Francesca Happ, FBA, FMedSci is professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, UK.

Jo Egerton is a schools research consultant, running school-based research courses for teaching school alliances and academies.

First published 2019

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2019 selection and editorial matter, Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happ and Jo Egerton; individual chapters, the contributors

The right of Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happ and Jo Egerton to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Carpenter, Barry, editor. | Happe, Francesca, editor. | Egerton, Jo, editor.

Title: Girls and autism : educational, family and personal perspectives / Edited by Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happe and Jo Egerton.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018045593 (print) | LCCN 2018056106 (ebook) | ISBN 9781351234429 (eb) | ISBN 9780815377252 (hbk) | ISBN 9780815377269 (pbk) | ISBN 9781351234429 (ebk)

Subjects: LCSH: Autistic girlsEducation. | Autistic girlsFamily relationships. | Autistic girlsHealth and hygiene. | Autistic girlsLife skills guides.

Classification: LCC LC4717 (ebook) | LCC LC4717 .G57 2019 (print) | DDC 371.94dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018045593

ISBN: 978-0-8153-7725-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-8153-7726-9 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-351-23442-9 (ebk)

The editors and authors of this book would like to extend their heartfelt thanks:

To the National Association of Head Teachers for hosting the Autism and Girls Forum.

To Alison Foyle and Elsbeth Wright for nurturing us through the publication process, and, along with Routledge generally, giving us a platform through the book, to advocate for and with girls on the autism spectrum.

To the girls and their families who have shared their stories with passion and conviction.

We hope that this book is true to the many voices we have tried to capture, all of whom share a common commitment to improving the lives of girls with autism.

Venessa Bobb is the mother of three children, all with neurodevelopmental conditions. Due to her challenges with her son (diagnosed with ADHD and autism), she set up A2ndvoice as a voluntary group to meet the needs of the local autism community, hosting a range of activities and events supporting autistic children and their families. Over the past several years she has hosted events focusing on different perspectives of autism, including girls and women, faith communities, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and healthy relationship programmes in keeping safe for youth. Venessa is currently the branch officer for the National Autistic Society Lambeth Branch and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism Advisory Group. She has partnered with other autism groups and also volunteers for the Cassandra Centre based in Norbury, a charity supporting adolescents who have experienced domestic abuse and violence.

Katie Buckingham is the founder and director of Altruist Enterprises; an experienced provider of resilience, stress management and mental health awareness training to organisations and schools nationally. Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at the age of 16 years, Katie sees her autism as an advantage. After completing her A levels, Katie went on to attend the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, where she set up Altruist Enterprises in 2013. Since then, she has won various awards, including Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2018, Birmingham Mails Young Achiever of the Year 2017 and the New Entrepreneurs Foundation Future Face of Business. In 2014, Katie was invited to attend the prestigious Women of the Year Lunch in honour of her work raising awareness of and reducing the stigma attached to mental health. She enjoys public speaking and recently delivered her first TEDx talk titled, Im fine. Lets stop masking our mental health issues which is available to watch on YouTube. Katie has been featured in both The Guardian and Evening Standard newspapers, and also regularly writes for the Huffington Post on the subject of mental health.

Barry Carpenter, CBE, OBE is professor of mental health in education at Oxford Brookes University, UK. He is also honorary professor at universities in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Australia. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Barry has held the leadership positions of head teacher, chief executive, principal, and director of the Centre for Special Education at Westminster College, Oxford. In 2009, he was appointed by the secretary of state for education as director of the Children with Complex Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Research Project. He is the author of over 150 articles and many texts on a range of learning disability/special needs topics. Recently, he co-authored the book