Gender Differences and Similarities: Autism Symptomatology and Developmental Functioning in Young Children.
Once you match for ability, toddler boys and girls with autism show equal overall symptoms, but girls may have weaker motor and stronger communication scores.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Matheis et al. (2019) compared toddler girls and boys who all had autism.
They matched the kids for cognitive level first, then looked at autism symptoms and motor, language, and daily-living scores.
The goal was to see if girls look different from boys once brain-power differences are ruled out.
What they found
Overall autism severity was the same for both sexes.
Girls scored a bit lower on motor skills and a bit higher on communication.
The take-home: when ability is held constant, the two sexes look more alike than different.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (2009) asked the same question ten years earlier and also found no broad sex gap, but they saw girls struggle more with communication and sleep.
Fleury et al. (2018) tracked community toddlers and again found equal severity; they warn that quiet girls can still meet ASD criteria and be missed.
Rodriguez-Seijas et al. (2020) moved the age up to preschool and found girls actually show milder social-affect symptoms, hinting that the small girl advantage may grow with age.
Together the papers show a steady pattern: no global boy–girl divide in early ASD severity, yet girls may hide in plain sight because their social gaps are smaller or different.
Why it matters
For you at the table, this means don’t let quieter, more verbal girls slide. Use the same strict criteria you use for boys, but add extra motor and play probes for girls. If a toddler girl has subtle social slips yet talks well, still score the full ADOS and watch her move; her autism may be just as real.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A growing body of research suggests that symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may present differently in males and females. This study examined gender differences in ASD symptoms and developmental functioning, using the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtism Traits, Part 1 (BISCUIT-Part 1) and the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2nd Edition (BDI-2), amongst children aged 17-37 months meeting ASD diagnostic criteria (n = 1317). No gender differences were found in regards to overall symptom severity or symptom domains on the BISCUIT-Part 1 when gender groups were matched by cognitive ability. Females with ASD had greater motor deficits and less communication impairment compared to their male counterparts as measured by the BDI-2. Secondary analyses examining item endorsement patterns were also conducted. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3819-z