I wrote for Edutopia about girls with autism: they are diagnosed later than boys and in fewer numbers. Scientists are still unsure if this is because there are in fact fewer girls with autism or if they've been looking at autism spectrum disorder all wrong--based on studies of mostly boys. (Spoiler: probably some of both.) The piece received 10,000+ reposts through Edutopia, which has a formidable social media team.
I was moved by the stories of the women I spoke to, now adults, who had often felt unsure of their place growing up, and to read accounts of parents who found in it some record of their experiences with their girls. I was also fascinated to become engulfed in the heated, unresolved debate over terminology. Advocates argue forcefully both for people-first terminology--so girls with autism--and for identity-first language, so autistic girls, with families often saying they prefer people-first and self-advocacy groups lining up with identity-first (in general). Edutopia takes the editorial position of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network on this and uses identity-first language.