Anne Hegerty was 45 when she was finally diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The quiz-show personality, who is a contestant in the current series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, has been praised for opening up live on television about having ASD. But why did it take so long for her to be diagnosed?

One reason could be that girls are often skilled in the art of “masking” - learning social behaviours through observation and then copying - and scientists believe that this ability to mask has led to girls with ASD being diagnosed late or not at all.

Research has now begun to break down the myths about ASD in girls. This has improved the chances of more girls with ASD getting the correct diagnosis, earlier, and has helped teachers, parents and other professionals to better support them.

But the trouble with myth busting is that it can sometimes produce new myths. The research has left us with a very specific profile of a girl with ASD and while this is inarguably helpful for the majority, what about those who don’t quite fit the profile? How can teachers make sure they are supporting all girls with ASD?

Here are some points to remember.

Teaching girls with ASD

1. ASD is not an exclusive disorder

Comorbidity is common in ASD. Disorders that are prevalent in children with ASD include: obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia), epilepsy, Tourette’s syndrome and allergies. This means that we should not oversimplify needs or rely on generalisations when we are building profiles of female pupils with ASD.

2. ‘Autism’ is an umbrella term for a wide spectrum of disorders

Each disorder within the spectrum presents differently and more is known about some disorders than others. How much do most teachers know about about pathological demand avoidance (PDA), for example? Not many girls with PDA are described as “passive” or “non-disruptive”, although both of these are key characteristics on many “checklists” for ASD in girls.

Again, don’t rely solely on an ASD diagnosis, or the fact that your pupil is a girl, to understand their needs.

3. Be wary of one-size-fits-all guides to inclusion

It is common for well-intentioned schools to invest in off-the-shelf training and stockpiles of resources aimed at supporting children with specific needs. These resources are normally expensive, so schools are keen to use them. You have a child with ASD in your class? Here, have a ready-made visual timetable. You have a child with ADHD? Use this weighted blanket.

These resources are great, but we must take our cues from our pupils and make sure the resources we select for them reflect their needs as individuals.

Once you have found the resources that suit your children, don’t be afraid to adapt them. For instance, find out if your pupil responds better to information presented vertically or horizontally; this should determine how you structure that visual timetable.

4. Go back to child-centered approaches to teaching

Dig out all the individual assessment reports that are sitting in your special educational needs and disabilities coordinator’s cupboard. Very qualified professionals have taken the time and effort to better understand your pupil’s needs, so take advantage of this and invest some of your planning, preparation and assessment time in reading them.

Don’t forget to pass this knowledge on to other staff in the school or next year’s teacher. Learning passports are an excellent way of sharing key information with staff in the school, so suggest to the senior leadership team that these are introduced if your school does not use them already.

It’s also important to speak to parents and carers, as they can offer invaluable insight into their children. They will usually know the way their child communicates different needs and will often have a good idea of which strategies work and don’t work.

5. Don’t ignore the research  

While more research is needed, a lot of amazing work has already gone into better understanding girls with ASD, and it is important that we do not ignore the lessons from the science. Teachers need to know that many girls with ASD are able to appear neurotypical by mimicking their friends; think about all the lessons they might have sat through, seemingly understanding everything, but accessing very little.

At the same time, always balance the research with your own observations and knowledge of your pupil. View her as a whole person, just like you do every other child in your class.

Erica Cook is a part-time key stage 2 teacher in Stanstead, who is studying for a masters in psychology.