Moderators of Age of Diagnosis in > 20,000 Females with Autism in Two Large US Studies.
Girls with autism look at faces more than boys with autism, and all kids focus more when actors and toys match their own sex.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers used eye-tracking to watch how kids with autism looked at faces and toys. They tested both boys and girls to see if sex changed where the children looked.
The study used short videos with actors and toys. Some actors matched the child's sex and some did not.
What they found
Girls with autism looked at faces more than boys with autism. All kids spent more time looking when the actor and toy matched their own sex.
The results show that sex and gender cues shape social attention in autism, not just the autism label itself.
How this fits with other research
Backer van Ommeren et al. (2017) found the same pattern using a different tool. They saw girls with autism show stronger back-and-forth play than boys, backing up the new face-gaze finding.
Ma et al. (2021) pooled many eye-tracking studies and saw less eye-looking across all kids with autism. The new study adds that, within that lower level, girls still out-look boys.
Pitchford et al. (2019) proved a 15-minute computer game can make kids with autism look at faces more. Pair that with the new sex data and you might tailor such games differently for girls and boys.
Why it matters
If you test social attention, know that girls with autism will likely score higher than boys. A girl who looks at faces
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Emerging research suggests social attention in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) girls is enhanced relative to ASD boys but may also be affected by the type of social and nonsocial content presented. This study examined how biological sex and gender norms interact to influence visual attention in 79 school-aged children observing scenes that included gender-associated toys and actors of both sexes. Attention to social (faces) and object activity (hands with toys) stimuli was measured. Previously described distinctions between social attention in ASD boys and girls were replicated, with ASD girls looking more at faces than ASD boys. Irrespective of diagnosis, males and females attended more to actors that shared their same sex, and attended more to toys with gender-associations that were consistent with their own sex, suggesting that social and object salience increases for children under sex-consistent conditions. Importantly, ASD and typically developing (TD) children increased their gaze to faces when male actors were shown playing with female-associated toys, suggesting that both groups of children are sensitive to societal messages about the acceptability of males playing with female-associated toys. Our findings provide further evidence of heightened attention to faces in ASD girls relative to ASD boys, and indicate that social attention in ASD and TD children is influenced by who (male or female actor) and what (male- or female-associated toy) is being observed. Collectively, these results present a nuanced profile of attention in ASD that adds to a growing body of research indicating subtle phenotypic differences in ASD girls that may impact identification, assessment, and intervention. Autism Res 2020, 13: 763-776.. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Sex differences observed in typical development may also be present in individuals with autism. In this study, we developed an eye-tracking paradigm featuring videos of boys and girls playing with toys that varied in their gender associations. Attention to faces differed between autistic and non-autistic children but was also influenced by the sex of the actor and gender-association of toys. Autistic females demonstrated subtle attention differences that distinguished them from autistic males and may influence referral, diagnosis, and intervention.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2023 · doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1913-9