Investigating the Gender profile of Autism

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From: <mailto:vcm%40deakin.edu.au> vcm@... [mailto:

<mailto:vcm%40deakin.edu.au> vcm@...]

Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 8:21 AM

To: editor

Subject: Investigating The Gender Profile of Autism

Dear Autism Association of America,

My name is and I am currently in the fourth year of my

clinical doctorate of psychology, at Deakin University in Melbourne,

Australia. For my thesis, I am investigating the gender profile of

Asperger's Syndrome and Autism - namely, what is it about some groups

of females and males that can sometimes be so very difficult to

recognise and diagnose. This project has been developed with my

supervisor, Dr Mark Stokes in response to the clinical observations of

Dr Tony Attwood and Dr Janine Manjiviona (Royal Children's Hospital,

Melbourne, Australia) and reports from parents about how hard it is to

find someone to listen to them about their daughter?s difficulties

without being quickly dismissed.

For the final stage of my study, I am seeking parents of either

children or adolescent females or males with High Functioning Autism

or Asperger's Syndrome in Australia, the United States and the United

Kingdom to complete a brief questionnaire. My aim is to raise the

profile of this highly unrecognised group of people around the world

so that they too can receive the support they so deserve.

I am writing to you today, to ask about the possibility of advertising

my study through your organisation. For participants in the United

States of America and the United Kingdom we have developed an online

questionnaire to make participation easy. The web address is

<http://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/research/genderprofile>

http://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/research/genderprofile

Kind regards,

Clinical Doctorate of Psychology

Deakin University

Melbourne, Australia