Camouflaging Intent, First Impressions, and Age of ASC Diagnosis in Autistic Men and Women

Abstract

Camouflaging of autistic traits may make autism harder to diagnose. The current study evaluated the relations between camouflaging intent, first impressions, and age of autism diagnosis. Participants comprised autistic and non-autistic adults (n = 80, 50% female) who completed the Camouflaging of Autistic Traits Questionnaire. They were later video-recorded having a conversation with a person unaware of their diagnostic status. Ten-second clips from half these videos were later shown to 127 non-autistic peers, who rated their first impressions of each participant. Results showed that autistic participants were rated more poorly on first impressions, males were rated less favourably than females, and male raters were particularly harsh in their evaluations of autistic males. Camouflaging intent did not predict first impressions but better first impressions were linked with a later age of diagnosis.

Camouflage and masking behavior in adult autism

“…No significant correlation between IQ and camouflage was found by Lai et al ( 35 ); However, the authors found a positive correlation between camouflage and signal detection sensitivity. Similarly, Belcher et al reported no correlation between camouflage and executive function or theory of mind in 80 autistic participants ( 28 ).…”

“…It has been revealed by three studies that camouflage behavior is more common in autistic females rather than males ( 30 , 33 , 35 ). However, some studies could not find the gender difference in the non-autistic population ( 26 , 28 , 30 ) or in samples of autistic adults ( 27 , 28 ). Using a Compensation Checklist, Livingston et al did not find a relationship between compensation score and sex ( 32 ).…”

“…Only one study explored the effect of camouflage on the Age of receiving ASD diagnosis and found no relationship between them ( 28 ). No correlation was found between Age and camouflage in two other studies ( 32 , 35 ).…”

Autistic camouflaging across the spectrum

“…Indeed, by characterizing all instances of camouflaging as a form of passing, we risk adopting too narrow of a focus on the phenomenon and unduly limiting our conceptions of what camouflaging looks like as a consequence. It is possible to object that the cases of people whose behavior does not prima facie fall under the notion of passing, are nonetheless cases of people trying to pass as neurotypicals without succeeding (see also Belcher et al, 2022). While this might be the case, we have to be cautious about attributing such intention to people whose goals appear to be narrower, such as being able to enjoy more circumscribed social situations.…”

The future of telehealth for patients with autism spectrum disorder based on the example of Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) Autism – a global model introduced in Poland

“…Zgodnie z szacunkami Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) w Stanach Zjednoczonych kryteria diagnostyczne ASD może spełniać nawet 1 na 44 dzieci, przy średnim wieku rozpoznania wynoszącym nieco ponad 4 lata (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Wielu klinicystów i badaczy różnic międzypłciowych w autyzmie wskazuje dodatkowo, że dziewczęta i kobiety z ASD diagnozowane są później aniżeli chłopcy i mężczyźni (Belcher et al, 2022;Ormond et al, 2018;Rynkiewicz et al, 2016Rynkiewicz et al, , 2021. Niektóre pacjentki nie otrzymują diagnozy ASD w ogóle, a powodem jest brak odpowiednio wyszkolonych specjalistów (Lai i Baron-Cohen 2015;Rynkiewicz et al, 2019).…”