Percepção dos profissionais da saúde sobre o transtorno do espectro autista: diferenças na apresentação e diagnóstico em meninos e meninas

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by two main domains, the restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior. The diagnosis of autism is primarily based on the observation of social and communication behavioral characteristics. Its incidence is four times higher in males than in females, and women are often underdiagnosed and/or late diagnosed. The hypothesis that there is a specific female manifestation of autistic difficulties was proposed with the aim of explaining this diagnostic difficulty in females. In this study, we sought to present the perception of health professionals about the differences in the diagnosis and clinical presentation of ASD in female and male patients, through a questionnaire, applied qualitatively. We identified that although professionals do not perceive great disparities, some symptoms occurred more frequently in girls, especially the ability to mask clinical manifestations through learned strategies. In addition to this finding, we observed that it is difficult to diagnose girls with ASD, both because of the evident existence of a female phenotype of the disorder, and because of the lack of a diagnostic tool that addresses this heterogeneity of clinical presentation. In this way, we hope to provide a better understanding of the difference in the presentation of the disorder and the difficulty of making the diagnosis in patients with atypical presentation, which may help professionals in the identification of this group of patients and in their management, contributing to the improvement of their quality of life and life in society.