Autism behaviours may differ in boys and girls
The repetitive and restrictive behaviors common in autism arent seen as often in girls as they are in boys with the disorder, a new study says.
Researchers also found that there were differences in certain parts of the brain between girls and boys who exhibit these behaviors.
Our findings suggest a potential factor that may contribute to the relatively low proportion of females with autism, said the studys lead author Kaustubh Supekar, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California.
Supekar said repetitive and restrictive behaviors are one of the most noticeable characteristics in those with autism, and they are often the red flag that leads the child to be evaluated for the disorder. Examples include repetitive motions, a single-minded focus on a particular area of interest and strict adherence to routines.
Our findings raise the possibility that girls with less prominent repetitive and restrictive behaviors may miss being tested for autism or get misclassified as social communication disorder, Supekar said.
On the other hand, boys with more pronounced repetitive and restrictive behaviors may show more false positives for autism spectrum disorders, given that repetitive and restricted behaviors are not specific to children with autism and are also observed in other neurodevelopmental disorders, Supekar added. The findings were published online Sept. 3 in the journal Molecular Autism.
The researchers conducted their study in two parts. First, they compared symptoms in 128 girls and 614 boys with autism. The children were between 7 and 13 years old, and all had a measured IQ over 70, the study authors said.
Next, the investigators looked through a publicly available database for MRI brain scan results for children with and without autism. This database also contained information on the childrens symptoms.
The researchers compared the MRI findings for 25 girls with autism, 25 boys with autism, 19 girls who developed typically and 19 typically developing boys, all with the same age and IQ range.
Both investigations showed that girls with autism tended to have less severe repetitive behaviors than the boys had. Social and communication difficulties were similar between both sexes, the findings showed.
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