Self-reported sex differences in high-functioning adults with autism: a meta-analysis.

The study used self-report only, so the results depend on participants accurately rating their own symptoms and not on independent observation. The authors could not confirm intelligence quotient data or control for intellectual disability, so the findings apply only to high-functioning adults who completed the questionnaire. Psychiatric comorbidities, neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and medication use were not available for all participants, so these could have affected scores. The analysis used only total domain scores, not individual questionnaire items, so it could not examine specific symptoms or alternative factor structures. The sample may be biased toward autistic women who already met diagnostic thresholds on instruments developed largely from male cases, which can make female presentations look more male-like. The participants were likely predominantly Western and Caucasian, and the study could not control for ethnicity, socioeconomic status or education. Some age differences remained between groups, including typically developing women being older than typically developing men. The RAADS-R is a screening questionnaire, not a stand-alone diagnostic instrument.

Do not conclude that autism is the same in men and women. Autistic men and women gave similar self-reported scores on social, language and special-interest domains, but autistic women reported more sensory and motor symptoms. The study also used a screening questionnaire and a sample that may already fit male-like diagnostic criteria.