Play complexity and toy engagement in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: Do girls and boys differ?

Harrop, Clare; Green, Jonathan; Hudry, Kristelle

doi:10.1177/1362361315622410

Cited by 39 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Similarly, parents were less likely to report an interest in wheeled toys as a concern in females later diagnosed with ASD, with interests rated as seemingly random and repetitive behaviors with toys such as figurines and dolls rated as more common in females [Hiller et al, ]. Harrop, Green, and Hudry [] also reported more engagement with toys rated as female (dolls, tea sets, etc.) in preschool‐aged females with ASD, mirroring trends observed in typical development [e.g., Maccoby & Jacklin, ; Servin, Bohlin, & Berlin, ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in social attention in autism spectrum disorder

et al. 2018

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Although reduced social attention and increased nonsocial attention have been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the studies have relied on predominantly male samples and have been underpowered to examine sex differences. These processes may differ for females with ASD, who have been shown to be dissimilar to males in social motivation and nonsocial features, including circumscribed interests (CI). The goal of this study was to compare social and nonsocial visual attention between males and females with ASD on a validated eye-tracking paradigm. Eighty-five school-aged (6-10 years) males and females with and without ASD completed a paired preference task of face and object stimuli (half of which related to common CI). After covarying for chronological and mental age, the presence of concurrently presented CI images reduced prioritization and attention to faces for males more than females, replicating previous findings. ASD females maintained comparable attention patterns to typically developing females, suggesting that previous findings of reduced social attention and increased attention to CI-related objects in autism may be specific to males. These findings are also inconsistent with the "extreme male brain" theory of autism. The more normative orienting and attention to social stimuli for females with ASD may indicate distinct phenotypic characteristics relative to males and possibly serve as a protective effect.Lay Summary: As autism is more commonly diagnosed in males, less is known about females with autism. Two areas of interest include the interests held by individuals with autism and how socially motivated they are. We used eye tracking as a way to understand these two areas. Our data reveal that elementary school-aged females (6-10 years) with autism attended to faces comparatively to females without autism, suggesting that (1) they were more socially motivated than males with autism and (2) the images of common interests were less motivating to them.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in social attention in autism spectrum disorder

et al. 2018

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“…However, male-to-female ratios are substantially higher at the high-cognitive-ability end of the spectrum. [55,56]. Studies of children have generally shown that autistic boys display more externalising behaviours, including inattention and hyperactivity, than girls [57], whereas girls may be more likely to display internalising behaviours such as anxiety than boys [58].…”

Section: The Female Phenotype: Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protective Effect or Missed Diagnosis? Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Hull

Mandy

2017

Future Neurol.

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has historically been diagnosed more frequently in males than females. One explanation for this is the 'female protective effect': that there is something inherent in being female that makes girls and women less susceptible to ASD.Another possibility is that ASD is under-diagnosed in girls and women, due to the existence of a 'female autism phenotype', which is not well captured by current, male-biased diagnostic criteria. To evaluate the 'female protective effect' and 'female autism phenotype' hypotheses, this narrative review describes recent developments exploring the genetic underpinning and behavioural expression of ASD in females. We then look at ways to better identify females with ASD who may be missed under the current diagnostic criteria. KeywordsAutism, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Gender Differences, Sex Differences, Genetics, Diagnosis, Person-Environment Fit IntroductionAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterised by deficits in social communication and reciprocity, and by restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours 1 . ASD is the current term used to integrate the previously separate diagnostic categories of autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder -not otherwise specified (aka 'atypical autism' [2]). ASD is a lifelong condition that is present from birth. Although adult diagnosis is possible, symptoms must be reported as present from early developmental stages in order for the 1 In line with preferences from a majority of the autism community [1], we use identity-first language (e.g. 'autistic person') to refer to individuals with an ASD throughout this paper, while recognising that others might prefer person-first language (e.g. 'person with autism'). Gender differences in diagnosisASD affects approximately one to two per cent of the population [3,4], and is much more likely to be diagnosed in males than in females. Gender ratios in diagnosis vary depending on the country, cohort, and characteristics of those included, but average ratios are reported at around four males for every one female [3][4][5]. However, when looking at those individuals with intellectual disability, the male-to-female ratio narrows significantly to around two-toone [6]. In addition, population-based studies, which screen all participants in order to identify cases regardless of whether they have already been diagnosed by local services, suggest that the male-to-female ratio is closer to 3:1 [7,8]. This is in contrast to the average of around 4-5:1 generally reported in studies based on clinically-diagnosed cases [9]. The fact that a lower proportion of females are found in clinical samples than in community-based, epidemiological samples suggests that there is a bias against autistic girls and women coming to clinical attention. This bias may have existed from the very first conceptions of ASD; only 3 of 11 children in Kanner's original cases were female, and no gi...

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“…Two of the four items of this component discuss gendered childhood interests, with the third eliciting information about age-typical interests in childhood. It has been reported that many autistic girls do not show a strong preference for female-typical toys, 31,32 and that autistic women frequently identified as ''tomboys'' in childhood. 33 Item number 32 (I am talented in music) appears to be qualitatively different from the other items in this component, with internal consistency improving for the component overall if this item is removed.…”

Section: Gq-asc As An Autism Assessment In Adult Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Am I Autistic? Utility of the Girls Questionnaire for Autism Spectrum Condition as an Autism Assessment in Adult Women

Brown

Attwood

Garnett

et al. 2020

Autism in Adulthood

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This study aimed to explore the structure of a modified version of the Girls Questionnaire for Autism Spectrum Condition (GQ-ASC; Attwood et al. 2011) to test its utility as an autism screening measure for adult women. We recruited 672 cisgender and trans women aged between 18 and 72 online. The sample contained 350 autistic women (M age = 36.21, standard deviation [SD] = 10.10) and 322 nonautistic women (M age = 34.83, SD = 9.93), screened using the Autism Quotient. A principal component analysis and parallel analysis revealed a five-component solution that accounted for 40.40% of the total variance. The extracted components appear to be consistent with what is known about the way girls and women display their autistic traits and interpreted as (1) Imagination and play: Describes interest in fantasy, fiction, and reflection on the quality and content of imaginative play in childhood. (2) Camouflaging: Describes effortful attempts to reduce the visibility of autistic traits. (3) Sensory sensitivities: Describes sensory processing hyper-and hyposensitivities across various modalities. (4) Socializing: Describes barriers to social understanding and participation. (5) Interests: Describes age-advanced and nonstereotypically feminine interests. We observed significant differences between autistic and nonautistic women across all extracted components, and the total score. A receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated an excellent level of discrimination. When applying a cutoff score of 57, the GQ-ASC correctly identified 80.0% of cases. The modified GQ-ASC is an effective and highly discriminant screening tool for use in adult autistic women. It provides valuable insight into the shared features and experiences of this underrecognized and underrepresented subset of the autistic community.

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Play complexity and toy engagement in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: Do girls and boys differ?

Cited by 39 publications

References 74 publications

Sex differences in social attention in autism spectrum disorder

Sex differences in social attention in autism spectrum disorder

Protective Effect or Missed Diagnosis? Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Am I Autistic? Utility of the Girls Questionnaire for Autism Spectrum Condition as an Autism Assessment in Adult Women

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