Sex differences in cognitive and behavioral characteristics in children with autism spectrum disorder in different age

Abstract

Objective To explore sex differences in cognitive and behavioral characteristics in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in different age. Methods The study involved 621 children (503 boys, 118 girls) diagnosed with ASD from June 2013 to June 2015. Using raw scores to examine cognitive and behavioral characteristics in children with ASD based on the Psycho-Educational Profile-3rd Edition (PEP-3). The subjects were divided into two groups according age: <4Y group and ≥4Y group. The sex differences of cognitive and behavioral characteristics were analyzed in different age groups. Results No sex differences were found in characteristic motor behaviors (CMB) and characteristic verbal behaviors (CVB) raw scores in 0.05), while girls with ASD had lower raw scores on CMB and CVB raw scores in >4Y group((21.56±7.33) vs (24.09±4.80), (9.79±7.05) vs (13.27±5.75); P 0.05). Conclusions Characteristic verbal and motor behaviors may not be obvious in girls with ASD in early childhood, which may increase the difficulties of early clinical identification. The development of cognitive ability in girls with ASD is far behind that in boys in the crucial 3-5 years old, as well as social reciprocity and characteristic behaviors.It suggests that the behavior characteristics are closely related to cognitive development. Key words: Autism spectrum disorder; Sex differences; Cognitive; Behavioral; Age