Research shows transgender individuals are 3-6 times more likely to be autistic than cisgender people. In clinical settings, 4.8% to 26% of transgender individuals have an autism diagnosis, with large studies reporting up to 23.76%. A 2022 meta-analysis estimates about 11%. Some argue this overlap may involve misdiagnosis or social stressors, and the link is controversially used to restrict gender-affirming care, though researchers call this unscientific. Interestingly, autistic individuals may explore gender freely due to lower adherence to social norms, with significant studies on this starting around 2010.