Sex-Differences in Children Referred for Assessment: An Exploratory Analysis of the Autism Mental Status Exam (AMSE).

The team looked at 8-item Autism Mental Status Exam scores for kids sent for ASD testing. They asked: do girls and boys score differently on these brief items? The sample was mixed-age children referred to clinics.

Girls with ASD were more likely to show language deficits on the AMSE. Boys showed more sensory symptoms. Yet the tool's overall ability to flag autism was the same for both sexes.

Kocher et al. (2015) saw no sex differences in toddlers using broad developmental measures. The new study used the AMSE and found small item-level gaps, showing the tool, not the kids, drives what you spot.

Ros-Demarize et al. (2020) also saw girls score higher on social-communication items in toddlers. Together the papers hint that girls' social struggles stand out while their restricted interests hide.

Giofrè et al. (2014) proved the AMSE works well in verbally fluent adults. Burrows et al. (2018) extend that work down to children and add the sex lens, keeping the tool's overall validity intact.

You can keep using the 8-item AMSE for both boys and girls; it does not under-detect either sex. Just remember that a girl with weak language or a boy with sensory quirks may simply be showing the pattern this study captured. Let those item hints guide your follow-up questions, not your final verdict.