Autistic Perspectives

For decades, autism was considered almost exclusively a male phenomenon. Girls and women were rarely included in diagnostic statistics, their realities remained invisible, and their symptoms were misinterpreted or attributed to other disorders. Only in recent years has a profound scientific and social change begun that is fundamentally correcting this image.
This book shows how autism has gone from being a supposedly "male disease" to a neurobiological variant of human diversity, whose female manifestations are now finally becoming visible. It traces the historical roots of misdiagnosis, analyzes the structural blind spots of classical psychology, and highlights how masking, social role models, and diagnostic instruments have distorted our understanding of the spectrum for decades.
The author shows how identity, relationships, education, and the world of work change when a late diagnosis suddenly explains life-and how modern forms of therapy, neurodiversity-oriented concepts, and social developments open up new spaces for self-determination.
She tells the story of decades of invisibility-and the path to a future in which autism is seen for what it is: diverse, human, and gender-transcending. A compact, scientifically sound overview of the paradigm shift in autism research-and the growing visibility of autistic women.
Bremen University Press has published over 5,500 specialist books in various languages since 2005.
November 2025