Working with Girls and Young Women with an Autism Spectrum Condition: A Practical Guide For Clinicians

This guide shows how clinicians can help girls and young women with ASD to reach their full potential, by adopting more relationship-based, individualised approaches. With contributions from young women about their experiences in clinical settings, the book reflects on what clinicians have done right and wrong to date, why girls and women with ASD are too often misunderstood, and how the culture of how clinicians work with them needs to change in order to achieve better results.

In a concise and practical way, this book covers how to better understand clients' needs and foster strong relationships through diagnosis, understanding comorbidities, sensory issues, self-harm, emotional regulation, assessments, interventions and strategies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements.

Contributions.

Introduction.

1. Why girls and young women with autism?
2. Milly, Darcey and Esther.
3. Beginning with relationships.
4. Mental health and emotional wellbeing.
5. Diagnosis/labels/being understood.
6. Co-morbidities.
7. Assessments.
8. Interventions and strategies.
9. Clinical and service culture change.

Conclusion.

References.

List of abbreviations.

"There are many ways in which a girl or woman may covertly express her Autism Spectrum Condition, and many ways in which she and her family need understanding and support. This practical, succinct and wise guide for clinicians provides advice on how to identify the female presentation of ASC, as well as how to adapt conventional individual and family therapy to accommodate the abilities and experiences of girls and women."
- Tony Attwood, clinical psychologist and author

"This book is a practical and valuable addition to the literature on the female experience of autism. With both clinical approaches and the unique and insightful voices of young autistic women, it should be on every clinician's bookshelf."
- Sarah Hendrickx, Autism Consultant, author and autistic adult