Abstract
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder associated with neurodevelopment and social and behavioral skills. With the development of diagnostic criteria and the accretion in the dissemination of information about autism, there was an increase in the number of diagnoses. However, the identification of this disorder, which usually occurs between 12 and 24 months of life, is still a complex process, and the criteria are very broad and the characteristics of the patients very varied. In the present work, we will review the difficulties associated with the diagnosis of autism, and the fact that they are even greater in girls, discussing this gender difference. As a methodology for this expanded summary, we collected articles by different authors who dealt with this theme, making an analysis based on the literature gathered in the research. The results suggested that girls are less likely to meet diagnostic criteria for ASD, as this may reflect on their quality of life in the future. In addition, we observed a gap in the scientific production related to this topic in Brazil, since most of the literature found was foreign.
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