Parent-Endorsed Sex Differences in Toddlers with and Without ASD: Utilizing the M-CHAT.
Roald A Øien, Logan Hart, Synnve Schjølberg and 7 others
PMID 27757737WHAT IT FOUND
At 18 months, parents reported fewer failed M-CHAT items for girls without ASD than boys, but more failed items for girls with ASD than boys.
Item patterns changed after accounting for total failures.
Key findings
01Non-ASD females failed fewer M-CHAT items overall than non-ASD males, while ASD females failed more items than ASD males.
02In non-ASD children, females were less likely to fail several M-CHAT items, including pretend play, show objects to others, eye contact, imitation, follow to point, suspected deafness, understand speech, and check parent's reaction.
03In children with ASD, females were more likely to fail imitation but less likely to fail follow to point.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The ASD group was not a prevalence sample: it contained only 185 children with complete M-CHAT responses and later ASD registration. The ASD girls group was very small, with 32 girls, which may affect power for item-level comparisons. The cohort was still young when diagnoses were linked, so some children may receive an ASD diagnosis later. Registry diagnoses did not give exact age at diagnosis or level of functioning, and person-specific registry identification was available only after 2008. Children diagnosed before 2008 and not seen by specialized services could have ASD without being known to the study. MoBa participation was self-selected, so the sample may over- or under-represent some characteristics. Children with missing M-CHAT items were excluded. No follow-up interview was done, and the M-CHAT gives limited examples, so parents may interpret items differently for boys and girls. The non-ASD group consisted mostly of typically developing children, but some may have other diagnoses or developmental problems.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the higher total M-CHAT failure rate in girls with ASD as proof that ASD is more severe in girls. That group contained only 32 girls, the cohort was still young when diagnoses were linked, and children with missing M-CHAT responses were excluded.