I saw a Spectrum News article come across my email on Gender Identity and Autism and I was very interested in finding out more. Having worked as the Director of Adult Services at AANE, there were many people I worked with who were exploring their gender and/or their gender expression. I also worked with many parents and families who were looking to find resources and understand what their child was experiencing so they could better support them.
I think this is such an important topic and was able to get in touch with the lead researcher for this most recent study. Join me for this interesting and informative conversation.
Varun Warrier is a postdoctoral researcher at the Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge. He primarily works on using genetics to understand heterogeneity in mental health conditions, including the intersection between autism and other mental health conditions.
Here are links to the study and the Spectrum News article referenced in the podcast:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32770077/
https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/gender-and-sexuality-in-autism-explained/