One of the greatest challenges for those living with autism is that there is still a lack of understanding about the condition.

In recent times however, books, TVs and even stage plays are helping to improve people’s perceptions.

The latest example comes courtesy of The Bridge – one of several Scandinavian crime dramas which have become hugely popular in the UK.

Saga Noren, the show’s heroine, exhibits many of the symptoms which will be familiar to those on the autistic spectrum, including a difficulty knowing how to react in certain social situations or challenges forming relationships.

The character’s condition has never explicitly been confirmed by the writers, but the Swedish actress cast in the leading role, Sofia Helin, has alluded to it a number of times.

She said she had researched autistic behaviour before filming the series and now receives fan mail from many people who relate to her character.

The plain-speaking policewoman is the latest of several autistic characters to capture the public imagination.

The trend was arguably started by Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – an award-winning novel told from the perspective of a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome.  The tale has recently been adapted into an acclaimed stage production.

Where The Bridge has perhaps broken new ground is that it depicts a woman with the condition.

Carol Povey, from the National Autistic Society, said that statistics showed that men were far more likely to be diagnosed.

“That fact that we are getting more women coming to us having been diagnosed as adults must mean that younger girls have been missed,” she said.

“Whereas boys will often have interests in trains, or obvious mechanical things or the planets, some girls will have that too, but many will hyper-focus on animals, or people, or they may become very passive and retreat into a fantasy world. Also often girls’ language development is better than boys, which can throw people off track.”