Sex differences: It’s not about the diagnostic measurements.

A fresh take on an existing topic: why there are more boys diagnosed with ASD than girls. Even from a few months old, girls are different than boys, and they show subtle differences in toddlerhood. But at the time of diagnosis, they score the same on standardized instruments of ASD used to categorize someone as having ASD or not. This means it isn’t about the measures. It could be cultural factors, it could be a protective effect, but there needs to be a better understanding of these differences across the lifespan to help everyone with ASD, especially females.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/retrieve/pii/S096098222030419X?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS096098222030419X%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04526-z

https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13242

The ASF Day of Learning mini-recap

Did you miss the ASF Day of Learning in NYC but want to hear some teasers before they are available online?  Listen to this week’s podcast, and you’ll hear the 12 minute talks distilled to 2 minutes, leaving out a lot of details and eliminating the video part but giving you a quick recap of each.  Topics this year included:  1) What have we learned this last year?  2) Are Boys and Girls with Autism Different? 3) Does diet make a difference in autism?  4) Is medical marijuana a treatment option? 5) Why won’t my child sleep and 6) How can we improve adult outcomes in people with autism?  ASF also announced 8 new pre and post-doctoral fellowships on Wednesday, filling out an already amazingly active autism awareness month.   Stay tuned for the complete presentations to appear on the ASF homepage.