Brief Report: Predicting Sex Differences and Diagnosis from Early Parent Concerns

Area of Science:

• Child psychology
• Developmental neuroscience
• Clinical psychology

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research predominantly focuses on males, leading to potential under-identification in females.
• Parental concerns are recognized as significant predictors of a child's eventual diagnosis.
• Understanding sex-based differences in early developmental concerns is crucial for timely and accurate diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how patterns of parental concerns predict sex differences in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or developmental delay (DD).
• To analyze the relationship between specific types of parent concerns and the eventual diagnosis in young children.
• To highlight potential diagnostic biases related to sex in ASD and DD.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of data from 273 children aged 36-72 months.
• Examined patterns of parental concerns in relation to sex and diagnostic outcomes (ASD or DD).
• Statistical analysis to identify significant predictors and sex-based differences in concern types.

Main Results:

• Males with ASD showed a higher prevalence of repetitive behavior and speech/language concerns compared to females with ASD.
• Females with DD were more likely to present with problem-solving concerns.
• Males with DD were less likely to exhibit social communication concerns compared to females with DD.

Conclusions:

• Parental concerns manifest differently based on a child's sex and diagnostic outcome (ASD vs. DD).
• Recognizing sex-specific patterns in developmental concerns can improve early identification of ASD and DD.
• Further research is needed to address sex-based diagnostic disparities in autism spectrum disorder.