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Given how common it is for Aspies to identify themselves after reading about it, the headline of this article, Girl diagnoses herself with Asperger’s after reading a book, may seem a bit along the lines of “The Sky Is Blue (Footage at Eleven)” (though even that headline would be acceptable in Seattle). The sheer obviousness of it, however, masks an important issue that the story brings up.

This girl has two siblings with diagnoses—a brother with Asperger’s and a sister with Kabuki Syndrome—yet her parents don’t have her tested for anything until she points out her resemblance to Aspie individuals on her own. While this is only one case, I suspect it isn’t entirely uncommon: people simply don’t pick up as easily on girls being Aspies, which at least partly accounts for the massive gender difference in diagnoses.

Another factor in this case may be that, as she is the eldest sister, her parents rely on her to take care of her siblings; they could not afford to see her as having something “wrong” with her, so they avoid getting her tested. Of course, in the end, this may also allow them to encourage her to see her diagnosis as something positive. The article ends

Rosie is a positive child, describing her Asperger’s as an ability rather than a disability, and is now doing well at school especially in English and Literacy.

She said: “I want to make a film and I’d like to do that when I’m little and then become an inventor.

“I have also written 11 books and I love art. I like having Asperger’s, it makes me different from other people and gives me a great imagination.

“I don’t mind helping out with Lenny and Daisy. I love my brother and sister and wouldn’t change them for anything.”

Related posts:

1. On Gender Difference
2. Sex, Gender, and the Non-Elite Athlete
3. Gender Across Borders
4. Hunter S. Thompson and Gender Roles
5. Fun with Gender Roles
6. G-20 and Gender: Time Magazine’s Problematic Portrayal of Michelle Obama
7. File Under D for Duh
8. From Precocious to Rebellious
9. Reading Society from Its Diagnoses
10. Snakes and Spice and Everything Nice in the Classroom

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