The Lost Girls of Autism
Run time: 15.00 – 16.00
Join Liz Pellicano (University College London) and Gina Rippon (Aston University) as they discuss Gina's recent book: “The Lost Girls of Autism: How Science failed autistic women and the new research that’s changing the story”.
Much of our historical ideas about autism have been shaped by the idea that it mainly affects men and boys. This includes the stereotyping of who is autistic (if you Google it, it’s all about boys); the design of diagnostic tests with a male template of ‘typical’ autism; a thirty year ‘men-only’ focus in brain imaging studies of the autistic brain, resulting in a biased evidence base that was only telling half the story.
Autistic women have been missed because no-one was looking for them.
But in the last decade or so, the male spotlight has been challenged. Autistic women have found their voice and have alerted the autism world and the autism research community to their presence. A new picture of autism is emerging which is giving us a better understanding of what it is like to be autistic.
For access information and directions to this venue, and all British Science Festival venues, please click this link https://britishsciencefestival.org/british-science-festival-2025-venues
