“…The striking ratio of males to females among individuals with the condition [autism]. The sex ratio of males to females reported in the literature ranges from approximately 2:1 to 4:1 (Lord and Schopler 1987; Wing 1981), and approximately 9 times as many males as females are diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (which can be viewed as a milder form of autism).” [p. 39] Baron-Cohen, S. (2008). Autism and Asperger syndrome: The facts. New York: Oxford University Press.
If there a larger number of females to males in Aspergers than there are in autism, the percentage of males with ASD will increase with an increase in the number of children diagnosed. Unless the evaluation protocol is revised which is now being considered. If Aspergers is separated from autism as a diagnosed condition the numbers will likely become more difficult to parse.
I believe that autism is an evolutionary condition influenced by changes in social structure. I hypothesize that females evolved sooner than males to achieve split consciousness evidenced by cerebral lateralization. When social structure and environmental forces compel the emerence of evolutionary forebear features, we have to go further back to find woman challenged in the same way that men are when wrestling with the transition to the new brain of the split conscious human being.
Current ratios reflect evolutionary pathways.
