Girls and women get diagnosed with autism less than boys. Lots of people think of autism as a “boy’s thing”, so girls might get diagnosed with other disabilities instead. They might be told they’re just shy or mean, but that is wrong! Girls can be autistic, too.
Autistic girls might not always look like autistic boys, since girls and boys might act differently. Girls might feel more pressure to fit in than boys do, and this can make it harder to tell if girls are autistic.
Studies about autism mostly focus on autistic boys. This means that we know very little about autistic girls, which makes it even harder for girls to get diagnosed.