The Times and The Sunday Times Profile picture
Oct 1, 2021 12 tweets 4 min read Read on X
There has been a 787% increase in autism diagnoses over the past 20 years — particularly among women

Why has it been going undiagnosed for so long?
thetimes.co.uk/article/women-…
“I thought that I can’t be autistic, I really care about people. It’s really embarrassing to even say this now because it’s such a mistaken idea.”

When Charlotte’s autistic friend suggested to her that she too could be on the spectrum, she laughed it off at first
As a child, Charlotte was always seen as eccentric and living in her own world, but no one inquired about it. Her brother, who has ADHD, drew more attention because adults wanted to stop what they saw as his disruptive behaviour
At the time autism would rarely have been considered as a diagnosis for girls

Matters are slowly changing. This week a new report showed that there was an explosive growth in autism diagnoses in England between 1998 and 2018, largely owing to an increase in recognition
The rise has been greater in women than men
Charlotte isn’t alone in her experience

The 50 autistic people who spoke to the Times told similar stories of searching for answers, often for decades; being dismissed by healthcare professionals and struggling as they failed to fit the stereotypes of autism
One in a hundred people are on the autism spectrum. Yet the term still conjures up images of white boys lashing out or deep-diving into train timetables
What’s it really like to be diagnosed with autism in adulthood?

For Florence Leslie, it helped to put something previously intangible into words and allowed her to fully embrace being herself
thetimes.co.uk/article/women-…
“I felt misunderstood at school and was desperate for a fresh start at university”

“My biggest sense of failure still came from feeling socially isolated, and the harder I tried to fit in, the more cheerful I tried to appear, the more distant I felt”
“Post-diagnosis, I finally had a name for this experience: masking, where autistic people, usually women, try to mask how being autistic can affect them.”
Historically, autism has been seen as a male condition, and estimates of the ratio of autistic males to females have ranged from 16:1 to 2:1
The present gender split is estimated to be 3:1 or 2:1

Some of that may reflect underlying biological factors that make autism more prevalent in men, but “The ratios have shifted because more girls are now included in terms of diagnosis.”
thetimes.co.uk/article/women-…

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More from @thetimes

Dec 22
Laws allowing 16-year-olds to vote in elections could be introduced as early as next year, a Labour minister has said ⬇️

thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
Lucy Powell, the Leader of the Commons, said that an Elections Bill — which would include lowering the voting age — could come in the next parliamentary session
In its manifesto Labour committed to giving “16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections”, but the pledge was not included in the government’s first King’s speech, setting out its priorities for its first parliamentary session
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Nov 7
Pollsters have underestimated Trump’s white working-class voter base as their survey methods cater too much to Democratic voters, experts claim

🔓 This is free to read thetimes.com/world/us-world…
On the eve of election day, the polls had predicted the closest race in modern times. Instead, it was a rout
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Nov 2
🔺EXCLUSIVE: King Charles and his eldest son make millions from feudal levies on schools, hospitals, homeowners and the very charities they represent, a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and @C4Dispatches reveals today thetimes.com/uk/royal-famil…
@C4Dispatches The ancient property empires that fund the King and the Prince of Wales have remained a closely guarded secret within the royal family and its small circle of advisers for centuries.

Even parliament has been denied access to the list of landholdings held by the royals
@C4Dispatches We used the royal addresses to uncover how the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are making millions of pounds by charging government departments, councils, businesses and the general public via a series of rents and feudal levies on land largely seized by medieval monarchs Image
Read 10 tweets
Oct 23
Sir Keir Starmer has rejected Donald Trump's claims of US election meddling but the Republican presidential candidate has filed an official complaint — follow live updates below ⬇️

🔓 Free to read

thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
The complaint was filed on Monday by Gary Lawkowski, Trump’s deputy campaign manager, and accuses Labour of “forgetting the message” of the American War of Independence
The Trump campaign have used a post by Sofa Patel, Labour’s head of operations, as evidence of its claim of election interference.

Patel said in a LinkedIn post last week that she had almost 100 “current (and former) party staff” ready to campaign for Harris in many swing states
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Sep 28
🔺EXCLUSIVE: Rosie Duffield (@RosieDuffield1) has resigned as a Labour MP, blaming Sir Keir Starmer’s “cruel and unnecessary” policies and the freebies row that is engulfing him and his party
Duffield, 53, has become the fastest MP to jump ship after a general election in modern political history. She is writing to the prime minister today informing him of her decision to resign the whip “with immediate effect”
In her resignation letter, which she has shared with The Sunday Times exclusively, Duffield condemned Starmer for accepting gifts worth more than £100,000, including clothing, glasses and accommodation paid for by Lord Alli, the Labour peer
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Jul 16
Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has been accused of “subverting” cabinet ministers in an effort to secure a government bailout of up to £310m to rebuild a derelict stadium in Belfast thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
Sue Gray has angered government officials and ministers by “personally dominating” negotiations for a bailout for Casement Park, a dilapidated Gaelic games venue due to host matches at the 2028 European football championship
Gray’s close interest in the project, which is politically contentious in Northern Ireland, has caused resentment among Labour ministers who have been told there is no money for new spending commitments
Read 6 tweets

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