Autism screening tools have all been developed on the 'male phenotype', and therefore are not helpful in diagnosing women.

ASSQ (Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire):

• developed by Kopp and Gillberg in 1999 to test for Asperger's and high-functioning autism
• in 2011, they added 18 items onto the questionnaire that they believed would better address the female phenotype
• found that these questions better addressed female phenotype, and were able to differentiate between women with autism and women without autism through this questionnaire

ex.) Girls tended to respond 'yes' to four questions where boys tended to respond 'no' - avoiding chores or demands, daily activities hindered by repetitive behaviors, changing voice or speech, interacting mostly with younger children

Limitations: in the original study, because the ASSQ was based on the male phenotype, any changes made may still not be fully representative of the female phenotype, needs more research