Social interaction is inherently bidirectional, but research on autistic peer interactions often frames communication as unidirectional and in isolation from the peer context. This study investigated natural peer interactions among six autistic and six non-autistic adolescents in an inclusive school club over 5 months (14 45-min sessions in total)…

Autistic individuals experience higher rates of psychiatric comorbidities than their peers. Camouflaging, the process through which individuals hide autistic traits, can be detrimental to mental health. This may be particularly true for autistic females, although research on sex differences in the relationship between camouflaging and mental…

Objective: It has been suggested that gender stereotypes can influence social perception and how people perceive behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) based on the individual's gender. This study aimed to investigate the effect of student's gender on teachers' perceptions of ASD behaviours in regular school settings. Method: The sample…

A paucity of research has been conducted to examine the effect of social skills intervention on females with ASD. Females with ASD may have more difficulty developing meaningful friendships than males, as the social climate can be more complex (Archer, Coyne, "Personality and Social Psychology Review" 9(3):212-230, 2005). This study…

Prior research has shown an elevation in autism traits and diagnoses in individuals seen for gender related consultation and in participants self-identifying as transgender. To investigate this relationship between autism and gender identity from a new angle, we compared the self-reported autism traits and sensory differences between participants…

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) is widely used to assess symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Given well-documented differences in social behaviors across cultures, this study examined whether item-level biases exist in ADOS scores across sociodemographic groups (race, ethnicity, and gender). We examined a subset of ten…

This study examined the extent to which gender-related social behaviors help girls with autism spectrum disorder to seemingly mask their symptoms. Using concurrent mixed methods, we examined the social behaviors of 96 elementary school children during recess (autism spectrum disorder = 24 girls and 24 boys, typically developing = 24 girls and 24…

Studies have shown an increase of symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in gender dysphoria (GD). Various hypotheses try to explain this possible co-occurrence (e.g., a role of resistance to change, stereotyped behaviors or prenatal testosterone exposure). This study examined ASD symptoms with the Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire…

Research has highlighted potential differences in the phenotypic and clinical presentation of autism spectrum conditions across sex. Furthermore, the measures utilised to evaluate autism spectrum conditions may be biased towards the male autism phenotype. It is important to determine whether these instruments measure the autism phenotype…

Females with high-functioning ASD are known to camouflage their autistic symptoms better than their male counterparts, making them prone to being under-ascertained and delayed in diagnostic assessment. Thus far the underlying cognitive processes that enable such successful socio-communicative adaptation are not well understood. The current results…

Given that early caregiver concerns may be different for children who go on to receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder versus another developmental disability, early caregiver concerns may differ for girls. Using a community-based sample of children (n = 241), we examined the extent to which gender differences may be related to caregiver…

The social behavior of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder was evaluated weekly over 19 weeks of a social skills training program. Participants' vocalizations were coded as initiating, responding, or other (e.g., self-talk). Participants' interactions were coded as dyadic peer interactions, dyadic leader interactions,…

Sex differences in social and communication behaviours related to autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have been investigated mainly in Western populations. Little research has been done in Chinese populations. This study explored sex differences related to ASC characteristics by examining differences in item responses and score distributions in…

Screening studies of a population in primary health care are sparsely reported. The aim was to describe observed atypical behaviours that may be associated with autism spectrum conditions, in a population (n?=?4,329) of infants at eight months. Observations were performed by paediatric nurses. An observational instrument, named SEEK developed for…

Autism is an extensively studied disorder in which the gender disparity in prevalence has received much attention. In contrast, only a few studies examine gender differences in symptomatology. This systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 peer reviewed original publications examines gender differences in the core triad of impairments in autism.…