Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Friend Matters: Sex Differences In Social Language During Autism Diagnostic Interviews, Meredith Cola, Lisa D. Yahkowitz, Kimberly Tena, Alison Russell, Leila Bateman, Azia Knox, Samantha Plate, Laura S. Cubit, Casey J. Zampella, Juhi Pandey, Robert T. Schultz, Julia Parish-Morris

Psychology Faculty Work

Background: Autistic individuals frequently experience social communication challenges. Girls are diagnosed with autism less often than boys even when their symptoms are equally severe, which may be due to insufficient understanding of the way autism manifests in girls. Differences in the behavioral presentation of autism, including how people talk about social topics, could contribute to these persistent problems with identification. Despite a growing body of research suggesting that autistic girls and boys present distinct symptom profiles in a variety of domains, including social attention, friendships, social motivation, and language, differences in the way that autistic boys and girls communicate …