Disability barriers autistic girls face in secondary education: A systematic review.
Kathryn Urbaniak, Miranda D'Amico
PMID 39533161WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic girls often mask difficulties to fit in, leading teachers to miss their need for support.
They face barriers like sensory overload, exclusion, and gendered assumptions. Clinicians should advocate for quiet spaces, explicit social coaching, and recognizing that quiet compliance may hide significant struggle.
Key findings
01Autistic girls frequently camouflage or mask their traits, which leads educators to perceive them as coping well when they are actually struggling, resulting in missed support and academic under-achievement.
02School environments pose significant barriers through sensory overload (noise, crowds) and unstructured transitions, causing distress and disengagement that is often misinterpreted as behavioural issues.
03Gendered expectations and stereotypes lead to delayed or missed diagnoses, as girls' social difficulties are often subtler or internalized compared to boys, and they are held to higher standards of organization and behaviour.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The review is limited to English-language studies from five developed countries, which may not reflect global educational contexts. The included studies had small sample sizes (ranging from 2 to 82 participants) and varied designs. The review uses a binary gender approach, excluding the experiences of transgender, non-binary, and gender-fluid autistic individuals. Most studies focused on white participants, with limited data on race and ethnicity. The review does not account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school experiences.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that an autistic girl who is quiet and compliant in the classroom is coping well. The review indicates that masking often hides significant distress and learning difficulties, leading to a lack of necessary support.