“Lots of autistic girls and women come across as very quiet, shy and introverted,” says Alis Rowe, a UK author and entrepreneur who was diagnosed with autism a few years ago.
“These quiet girls – and their problems – can be ‘invisible’ to other people.”
Alis says she herself was not diagnosed until she was 22.
Autism spectrum disorder or ASD is a condition that affects how people communicate and interact with the world. It is estimated that 1 in 160 children worldwide has an ASD, according to data from the World Health Organisation, but there is a huge disparity in diagnoses by gender.
Oxford Biodynamics PLC (LON:OBD) was spun out from Oxford University in June 2007 with the aim of translating fundamental scientific advances into a commercialised platform technology and a new generation of biomarkers for cancer and other diseases including ALS.