Researchers have developed a new assessment tool designed to detect autism in girls and women, correcting decades of gender imbalance in the diagnostic process, it has been announced.
Clinicians will be able to identify female autism in mere seconds by posing one simple question: “Do you have, or have you ever had, an imaginary horse?”
“From there, we’re looking for details,” explained Dr Brenda Hernández, who led the development of the test. “Can the horse fly? Can it talk? Does it have unicorn-adjacent qualities like any unusual appendages or the ability to fart glitter? What’s the horse’s backstory?”
“Its name might be something highly fanciful, like Silky Goldenhooves, or more mundane, like Gary. Either way, we would be advising the patient to invest in a sturdy pair of headphones.”
“In rare cases, an autistic girl’s imaginary horse might not be a horse at all. It might be an owl or a leopard or a garden gnome who came to life. With careful questioning, however, clinicians should be able to detect those horsey undertones.”
Our reporter approached several high-profile autistic women to comment on the new assessment tool, but each one galloped away, crying, “Giddy up, Moonbeam!”
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