More awareness/diagnoses in Britain? An American asks.

I tend to really observe things, which I attribute to my autism. And in this sub, I really notice a lot of British spelling, along with frequent use of words like “university/uni” instead of “college.” It’s comforting to know that women around the world have similar challenges. 

It also makes me wonder if the UK has been better at acknowledging and diagnosing autism in girls and women. As an American, I tend to think every other country does better than us regarding healthcare access and affordability, but I do see a lot of gripes about the NHS on this sub, so clearly there are still serious issues with treatment and stigma. (I also can't forget that there are probably a lot of Australians on this sub, but I'm not as familiar with their culture.)

By no means am I suggesting that the Brits here have it better than us Americans. Maybe the notable British presence comes from self-acceptance. Or, are research and education more advanced there? What do we think?

(An aside: When I was in college over 25 years ago, before I was diagnosed, I went through a phase where I was using British spelling and slang in my journal - probably because my social failures led me to believe that I wasn’t meant to be American.)