Population-level gender-based analysis of the educational journeys of students with autism spectrum disorder in British Columbia, Canada.

Students were selected by an administrative school ASD designation, not a verified clinical diagnosis; the designation system is used for funding and support records. Data ended in 2018/2019, so students in later cohorts may have continued schooling or completed high school after that point. The database has no variable explaining why students left the K-12 system, so dropout reasons are unknown. Post-secondary data cover only public institutions in BC; private post-secondary and out-of-province study are missing. Only female/male gender was recorded, not gender identity. Important variables such as socio-economic status, race, and additional diagnoses were not available. Some results with nine or fewer cases were masked. Additional stratified analyses were exploratory; some significant effects no longer remain if a Bonferroni correction is applied.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Do not conclude that late ASD designation caused lower high school completion or that females with ASD have worse educational outcomes overall. The study is an administrative association analysis; it does not measure diagnosis, supports received, or reasons for leaving school.