Is there a link between autism and being transgender?...

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Is there a link between autism and being transgender? Here's what the science says

https://www.advocate.com/health/autism-link-transgender-lgbtq#rebelltitem2 🔗

Ryan Adamczeski (2 Jan 2026)

Correlation doesn't always equal causation, but that won't stop officials from trying to link being autistic to being transgender.

While trans people are more likely to be autistic, there's no proof to suggest that autism causes people to be transgender.

It's true that transgender and nonbinary people are more likely to be autistic. Transgender and gender-diverse individuals are approximately three to six times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than cisgender people, according to a 2020 study published in Nature.

Other studies have found that people with autism are more likely to be LGBTQ+ overall. A 2021 report from the University of Cambridge found that cisgender autistic men were 3.5 times more likely to identify as bisexual than non-autistic men, whereas autistic women are three times more likely to identify as lesbian than non-autistic women.

While transgender people are more likely to be diagnosed with autism, there is no evidence that suggests one causes the other. Autism, like gender dysphoria, has no one single cause, but can be attributed to multiple genetic, biological, and environmental factors, according to the American Brain Foundation. (And no, it's not caused by vaccines either.)

[Lori Dee ✅]

I suspect that part of the reason more of us are diagnosed with autism is that we are the kind of people who seek therapy for other reasons. That puts us in a position to be diagnosed.

When I was attending school for my certification in hypnotherapy, we were told that, overall, more women seek out therapy than men, and that the difference was not about biological sex. People of both sexes with an emotional personality type were more likely than those with a physical personality type to seek out therapy.

People who avoid therapy rarely get diagnosed, and those who receive therapy do. I suspect the numbers are higher because of the number of people who have it, but just never received a formal diagnosis. In the same way, there are many more transgender people than the numbers tell us because of the number who remain stealth, or are undiagnosed, or for whatever reasons.

[Asche]

... overall, more women seek out therapy than men, and that the difference was not about biological sex.

The reason for this is obvious, at least to me.  In masculine culture, therapy is seen as an admission of weakness, and men aren't supposed to ever show weakness.  It's why the military has a hard time getting mentally ill soldiers to seek or even accept help.

As for autism and trans (and LGBT+ in general), I don't think people on the spectrum are inherently more likely to be trans/gay/etc., but I've noticed (I have a child on the spectrum) that people on the spectrum tend to be somewhat oblivious to social expectations, so they're less likely to automatically (and unconsciously)  repress any gender-variant inclinations.

So (IMHO) the real question isn't why are so many people on the spectrum (openly) trans, but why are so few neurotypical people stepping outside of the gender norms.  (And the answer to that is also IMHO obvious.)

[Dances With Trees]

but I've noticed (I have a child on the spectrum) that people on the spectrum tend to be somewhat oblivious to social expectations, so they're less likely to automatically (and unconsciously)  repress any gender-variant inclinations.

Thanks, Asche! I also have a child on the spectrum. Your insight regarding social expectations helped me to see her more clearly, and it is so true. My daughter (36) is ambivalent about my gender variance. Is your child (assuming they're not too young and you've shared your story) more or less supportive?

[KathyLauren]

I suspect the numbers are higher because of the number of people who have it, but just never received a formal diagnosis.

*Raises hand*.  Yep, that would be me.  I have never been diagnosed, but my wife thinks I am on the spectrum, and I think she is right.

I have a hunch that there is a connection between being trans and being on the autism spectrum.  It feels like, in my case, they are related.  But what the connection is, I don't know.  If there is a causitive relation, I would guess that it is being trans that made me autistic, rather than the other way around.  But I have no evidence whatsoever. 

The other, more likely explanation is that both are caused by similar pre-natal conditions.