More similar than different: Characterizing special interests in autistic boys and girls based on caregiver report.
Autistic girls’ special interests often look “typical” and socially oriented — use the SIS probe to avoid missing them during assessment.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Adams et al. (2024) asked caregivers to describe their autistic child’s special interests.
They used a new checklist called the Special Interest Survey (SIS).
The goal was to see if girls and boys pick different topics.
What they found
Most interests were the same for both genders.
Girls’ interests often looked “typical” — animals, music, people.
Because these seem “normal,” clinicians can miss them.
How this fits with other research
Agiovlasitis et al. (2025) also found autistic girls look like non-autistic girls in toy and playmate choices.
Together the papers show girls on the spectrum blend in more, so signs hide in plain sight.
Antaki et al. (2008) once thought girls with ASC had “less feminine” play. The new survey says their interests are feminine — the difference is the play style, not the topic.
Celani (2002) showed kids with autism prefer objects over people. E et al. add that girls break this rule; their interests can be people-focused.
Why it matters
If you only watch for trains, numbers, or wheels you will under-identify autistic girls.
Run the SIS probe during intake. Ask about pop stars, pets, or social media.
When the interest feels “age-appropriate,” dig deeper for intensity or rigidity.
Catching girls early means earlier intervention and better outcomes.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add the SIS quick checklist to your intake packet and ask every parent, “Tell me the three things your child can’t stop talking about.”
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Almost all autistic youths have special interests (SIs), which are focused, intense areas of passion and interest in a particular topic. Emerging research suggests that there are gender differences in SIs among autistic youth; however, commonly used measures that assess for the presence of SIs may not fully capture the granular nature of those differences between autistic boys and girls. Characterizing these differences is important for autism identification in girls, as SIs in autistic girls may often be overlooked by caregivers, teachers, and clinicians due to their more "typical" and more socially oriented content areas compared to autistic boys. This study therefore aimed to more fully characterize gender differences in SIs using a newly developed caregiver-report measure of SIs (the Special Interests Survey; SIS). Caregivers of 1921 autistic youth completed the SIS. Analyses revealed many similarities between boys and girls; there were no gender differences in mean age SI onset, caregivers' perceptions of uniqueness or interferences of endorsed SIs, or duration of previous SIs. There were gender differences in endorsement of less than half (39%) of the SI categories measured, and there were minor differences in the number of endorsed current and past SIs. Categories with significant gender differences fell along typical gender lines (e.g., more boys interested in math and construction, more girls interested in animals and arts/crafts). This study extends the growing literature on SIs and gender differences in autism and has important implications for supporting autistic youth and their families.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2024 · doi:10.1002/aur.3216