Typical Pubertal Timing in an Australian Population of Girls and Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

May et al. (2017) tracked puberty milestones in a large Australian group of kids with autism. They used the same Pubertal Development Scale you might use in clinic. The team compared kids with ASD to typically developing peers. They checked if autism changed the age of first body changes.

The study looked at breast growth, testes size, and first period. They used survival stats to control for age, weight, and family income. The sample came from the same national database that tracks Australian child health.

Kids with autism hit every puberty marker at the same ages as their peers. No delays. No early starts. The numbers stayed equal after the stat team added controls.

This finding held for both girls and boys. It also held across mild and severe autism traits.

Mulder et al. (2020) saw the opposite in American girls. Their autistic girls started puberty earlier. The clash looks big, but the methods differ. The U.S. study used doctor exams. The Aussie study used parent and teen checklists. Exams catch small changes sooner.

Sirao et al. (2026) pooled many studies in a meta-analysis. They found a small bump in precocious puberty risk for autistic kids, yet called the evidence very weak. May et al. (2017) sits inside that pool and pulls the average toward no effect.

Clawson et al. (2020) adds a twist: autistic boys and their parents often disagree on PDS items. If parents miss early signs, the Aussie null result could hide real but unnoticed early starters.

You can reassure families that autism alone does not shift puberty timing. Keep using the PDS for routine tracking. If a child seems early or late, look for other causes first. When you see early development in autistic girls, trust your eyes over the form and refer to endocrinology.