ERIC Number: EJ1086644
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Jan
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: N/A
Sex-Related Cognitive Profile in Autism Spectrum Disorders Diagnosed Late in Life: Implications for the Female Autistic Phenotype
Lehnhardt, Fritz-Georg; Falter, Christine Michaela; Gawronski, Astrid; Pfeiffer, Kathleen; Tepest, Ralf; Franklin, Jeremy; Vogeley, Kai
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v46 n1 p139-154 Jan 2016
Females with high-functioning ASD are known to camouflage their autistic symptoms better than their male counterparts, making them prone to being under-ascertained and delayed in diagnostic assessment. Thus far the underlying cognitive processes that enable such successful socio-communicative adaptation are not well understood. The current results show sex-related differences in the cognitive profile of ASD individuals, which were diagnosed late in life exclusively. Higher verbal abilities were found in males (n = 69) as opposed to higher processing speed and better executive functions in females with ASD (n = 38). Since both sexes remained unidentified during childhood and adolescence, these results are suggestive for sex-distinctive cognitive strategies as an alternative to typically-developed reciprocal social behavior and social mimicry in high functioning ASD.
Descriptors: Females, Genetics, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Social Behavior, Executive Function, Cognitive Processes, Gender Differences, Profiles, Verbal Ability, Identification, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Clinical Diagnosis, Interpersonal Competence, Communication Skills, Adults, Children, Adolescents
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A