April 20, 2018 – There’s a reason why people “light it up blue” for Autism Awareness, and it’s because autism was long thought of as a “boy” disorder. And although it does disproportionately impact males — more than four boys are diagnosed to every girl, according to the Center for Disease Control — some girls may be going undiagnosed because autism simply looks different in girls than it does boys.
No one knows that better than Stormi Kammer, mother of Piper, a teenage girl on the spectrum.
“When Piper was younger, and I brought up my concerns with her doctor and the school, I was often told she didn’t have autism because she is a girl, and she was so smart, and she could talk,” Kammer explained. “We have come a long way in the world of learning about autism and how it’s actually different with girls. Until recently, all of the data and research, including diagnosing criteria, was based off of male studies only. In fact, autism used to be considered a ‘boys-only’ condition.”
Autism is harder to detect in girls for several reasons, Kammer explained.
“By nature, girls are usually more outgoing than boys, socially. Girls are more likely to make eye contact. Girls also learn a coping mechanism called ‘masking.’ That is where they try to mimic those around them,” Kammer explained.
“Even though I realized at an early age that she had sensory issues, it wasn’t until Piper was 13 did we receive supports in school, along with an autism diagnosis,” Kammer said. “In fact, thanks to her school, we were able to obtain services for her easier.”
Piper is in the eighth grade, and her school supports include sensory breaks, extra minutes for passing periods, a quiet spot for test-taking, and noise-blocking headphones she can wear as needed. Like all kids, she has areas in which she succeeds, and others which present challenges. Her challenges, though, create daily difficulties, and impact the way in which she interacts with the world around her.
“Piper excels in all of her subjects, but she is especially good at art, music, foreign language, and ELA,” Kammer said. “She enjoys reading, hammocks, swimming, libraries, and art.”
Piper faces struggles with social skills and executive functioning skills.
“People tend to think that social skills simply means how to make friends. However, it is so much more,” Kammer explained. “Not only is it learning how to make friends, but it’s learning how to keep them, learning how to determine if you’re being taken advantage of, learning how to facilitate a phone call and leave an adequate message, learning how to take a message, goal making, and self-advocacy. I could go on, but I just wanted to make the point of that it’s more than making friends.”
To that end, Piper has engaged in occupational therapy, some physical therapy, and behavior therapy.
“We have lists and pictures for support all throughout our home. We utilize digital reminders on our phone,” Kammer added.
If Piper could let people know one thing about her and her autism, it’s that she doesn’t always know when she has done something wrong.
“She appreciates when people take the time to inform her what she did wrong exactly, and what to do instead next time,” Kammer said. “She doesn’t like it when people talk down to her when she’s done something wrong, though.”
Piper would also like people to know that “intelligence is completely separate from autism,” and that just because some people with autism don’t communicate with words doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say, and it doesn’t mean they are less than a person.
“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve just met one person with autism,” Piper said. “Every single person on the spectrum is different. If people could understand this, that is the first step in acceptance. We are all aware of autism and its existence. It’s now time to be accepting.”