The Mysterious Female Aspie

There's a lot of evidence to suggest that aspergers is much more common in males than in females.

This is, at least in part, due to the nature of human genetic makeup. Men have an XY chromosome structure while women have XX.

If one or more partners is genetically damaged or "different", there exists, in females, the ability to "repair" the genetic differences using DNA from the other X chromosome. Such a facility isn't available to men.

This means that men are much more likely to show genetic damage or differences and that women can often be "silent carriers".

That said, there's still considerably fewer female aspies than you'd expect.

Personally, I think this comes down to differences in behavior and detection. Women tend to have less social difficulties than men, particularly with the opposite gender because they're usually approached, rather than having to do the approaching themselves.

There's also a suggestion that "Girls are generally recognized as superior mimics. Those with AS hold back and observe until they learn the 'rules', then imitate their way through social situations." - Tony Attwood.

Regardless of the reason, there aren't too many articles on how aspergers manifests in women.

This one however, is a good one and well worth a read;

Psychology Today: An Aspie in the City By: Carlin Flora
(November/December 2006)