1. Bouhali R, Al-Tabaa H, Abdelfattah S, Atiyeh M, Esmaeili S, Al-Tabbakh H. Otisma: an integrated application and humanoid robot as an educational tool for children with autism. J Med Eng Technol;2022 (Jul 8):1-10.

Autistic children have difficulty communicating wants, needs, and thoughts. In cases of low functioning autism, an individual can have serious speech and language disabilities. In response to the need of parents and therapists dealing with autistic children, social robots have been developed and incorporated into assisting children with autism. Research studies have proved the possibility of improving autistic children’s lives using social robots. However, not any social robot can successfully fulfil this task, since autistic children are sensitive to certain behaviours, shapes, and colours. The proposed integrated application and humanoid robot, Otisma has been designed and developed after an intensive literature research. Otisma can be used as an educational and communicational tool with autistic children. Otisma aids educators by using applied behaviour analysis (ABA) which is a scientifically validated method that helps autistic children work through areas of severe developmental delay, like language and nonverbal communication. Different lessons can be explored using an application that is controlled by the therapist. Otisma is an efficient educational tool that facilitates the learning process to maximise social skills for children with autism. Otisma is portable, affordable, user friendly, and can be equally used by therapists in clinics or parents at home.

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2. Cai J, Habib D, Bedos C, Santos BFD. Parents’ Perceptions Regarding the Effectiveness of Dental Desensitization for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Pediatr Dent;2022 (May 15);44(3):192-197.

Purpose: Desensitization is a behavior guidance technique that has been used to help improve behavior and capacity to receive dental care in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to elicit parents’ perspectives regarding the effectiveness, benefits, and barriers associated with desensitization. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was used. Participants included parents of children with ASD who received regular dental care in a pediatric hospital. Data were collected through individual in-depth semi-structured interviews. All interviews were audio-recorded to be transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a thematic approach. Results: Thirteen parents were interviewed. The findings indicate that desensitization improved children’s dental care experience, as the repetition of appointments allowed them to develop familiarity in the clinical setting, reduced their stress and anxiety, and consequently treatment acceptance. However, parents described certain barriers to desensitization, including the organization and burden of frequent appointments and structural and financial issues, as the cost associated with desensitization visits was not covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Conclusion: Desensitization is seen by parents as an important avenue for improving dental encounters for children with autism spectrum disorder.

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3. Capp SJ, Agnew-Blais J, Lau-Zhu A, Colvert E, Tye C, Aydin Ü, Lautarescu A, Ellis C, Saunders T, O’Brien L, Ronald A, Happé F, McLoughlin G. Is quality of life related to high autistic traits, high ADHD traits and their Interaction? Evidence from a Young-Adult Community-Based twin sample. J Autism Dev Disord;2022 (Jul 8)

This study explored whether high autistic traits, high attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits and their interaction were associated with quality of life (QoL) in a sample of 556 of young-adult twins (Mean age 22 years 5 months, 52% Female). Four participant groups were created: high autistic traits, high ADHD traits, high autistic/ADHD traits, and low ADHD/autistic traits. High autistic traits were associated with lower QoL across domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental). High ADHD traits associated with lower physical, psychological, and environmental QoL. The interaction of autistic and ADHD traits was not significant in any domain. While mental health difficulties were associated with lower QoL, after accounting for mental health, most relationships between autistic traits, ADHD traits and QoL remained.

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4. Clément MA, Lee K, Park M, Sinn A, Miyake N. The Need for Sensory-Friendly « Zones »: Learning From Youth on the Autism Spectrum, Their Families, and Autistic Mentors Using a Participatory Approach. Front Psychol;2022;13:883331.

INTRODUCTION: Differences in sensory processing were linked to a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) before its inclusion as a core characteristic in the revised DSM-V. Yet, research focused on sensory processing and meaningful participation of children and youth with ASD remains relatively scarce. Although refinement of the International Classification of Functioning and Disability (ICF) relies on first-person accounts, longitudinal studies that foreground sensory experiences and its impact on involvement in a life situation from first-person perspectives are largely missing from this body of research. OBJECTIVES: In this sub-study, we drew from a longitudinal participatory research project consisting of two separately funded studies with children and youth with ASD and their families between 2014 and 2021. The participatory project used photovoice (PV) methods to identify the primary concerns related to socio-spatial exclusion (PV-1) and the action steps needed to redress them (PV-2). The objective of this sub-study was to understand what really mattered to children with autism, their parents, autistic youth and an adult mentor to consider how their experiential knowledge could deepen understanding of meaningful participation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used an overarching narrative phenomenological and aesthetic theoretical framework to focus data analysis on the bodily sensing experiences related to significant moments or events, followed by an inductive thematic analysis of what mattered about those moments. RESULTS: The topical areas of concern that emerged from analyses were: (1) the relationship between sensory experiences and mental health (motion madness); (2) the indivisibility or layering of sensory and social experiences (squishing and squeezing); (3) the impact when « tricks » to stay involved are categorically misunderstood (When you don’t respond in the correct way), and (4) how care and consideration of others can lead to innovative solutions for inclusion (I can’t be the only one). Listening to the bodily-sensing experiences of children with ASD, autistic youth and adults, and their families in their own terms has implications for remapping the ICF and envisioning sensory curb-cuts to access, initiate and sustain occupational participation for all.

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5. Falter-Wagner CM, Bloch C, Burghof L, Lehnhardt FG, Vogeley K. Autism traits outweigh alexithymia traits in the explanation of mentalising performance in adults with autism but not in adults with rejected autism diagnosis. Mol Autism;2022 (Jul 8);13(1):32.

BACKGROUND: Pronounced alexithymia traits have been found in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and recent research has been carving out the impact alexithymia traits might have on mentalising deficits associated with ASD. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, a large representative referral population for diagnostic examination for possible ASD (n = 400) was screened for clinical alexithymia with a German version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RME). In contrast to previous attempts to carve out the impact of alexithymia traits on mentalising deficits though, we employed dominance analysis to account for the correlation between predictors. The relative relationship between alexithymia traits and autism traits with RME performance was investigated in the group of individuals with confirmed ASD diagnosis (N = 281) and compared to the clinical referral sample in which ASD was ruled out (N = 119). RESULTS: Dominance analysis revealed autism traits to be the strongest predictor for reduced mentalising skills in the ASD sample, whereas alexithymia contributed significantly less. In the sample of individuals with ruled out diagnosis, autism traits were the strongest predictor, but alexithymia traits were in sum equally associated to mentalising, with the External-Oriented Thinking subscale as an important predictor of this association. LIMITATIONS: It needs to be considered that the cross-sectional study design does not allow for causal inference. Furthermore, mentalising is a highly facetted capacity and measurements need to reduce this complexity into simple quantities which limits the generalizability of results. DISCUSSION: While alexithymia traits should be considered for their mental health importance, they do not dominate the explanation of reduced mentalising skills in individuals with ASD, but they might do to a larger degree in individuals with ruled out ASD.

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6. Hadad BS, Yashar A. Sensory Perception in Autism: What Can We Learn?. Annu Rev Vis Sci;2022 (Jul 8)

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of unknown etiology. Recently, there has been a growing interest in sensory processing in autism as a core phenotype. However, basic questions remain unanswered. Here, we review the major findings and models of perception in autism and point to methodological issues that have led to conflicting results. We show that popular models of perception in autism, such as the reduced prior hypothesis, cannot explain the many and varied findings. To resolve these issues, we point to the benefits of using rigorous psychophysical methods to study perception in autism. We advocate for perceptual models that provide a detailed explanation of behavior while also taking into account factors such as context, learning, and attention. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of tracking changes over the course of development to reveal the causal pathways and compensatory mechanisms. Finally, we propose a developmental perceptual narrowing account of the condition. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 8 is September 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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7. Hadders-Algra M. Emerging signs of autism spectrum disorder in infancy: Putative neural substrate. Dev Med Child Neurol;2022 (Jul 8)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by altered development of the social brain with prominent atypical features in the fronto-temporo-parietal cortex and cerebellum. Early signs of ASD emerge between 6 and 12 months: reduced social communication, slightly less advanced motor development, and repetitive behaviour. The fronto-temporo-parietal cortex and cerebellum play a prominent role in the development of social communication, whereas fronto-parietal-cerebellar networks are involved in the planning of movements, that is, movement selection. Atypical sensory responsivity, a core feature of ASD, may result in impaired development of social communication and motor skills and/or selection of atypical repetitive behaviour. In the first postnatal year, the brain areas involved are characterized by gradual dissolution of temporary structures: the fronto-temporo-parietal cortical subplate and cerebellar external granular layer. It is hypothesized that altered dissolution of the transient structures opens the window for the expression of early signs of ASD arising in the impaired developing permanent networks.

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8. Hong RP, Hou YY, Xu XJ, Lang JD, Jin YF, Zeng XF, Zhang X, Tian G, You X. The Difference of Gut Microbiota and Their Correlations With Urinary Organic Acids Between Autistic Children With and Without Atopic Dermatitis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol;2022;12:886196.

Autism is a kind of biologically based neurodevelopmental condition, and the coexistence of atopic dermatitis (AD) is not uncommon. Given that the gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of both diseases, we aimed to explore the differences of gut microbiota and their correlations with urinary organic acids between autistic children with and without AD. We enrolled 61 autistic children including 36 with AD and 25 without AD. The gut microbiota was sequenced by metagenomic shotgun sequencing, and the diversity, compositions, and functional pathways were analyzed further. Urinary organic acids were assayed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and univariate/multivariate analyses were applied. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to explore their relationships. In our study, AD individuals had more prominent gastrointestinal disorders. The alpha diversity of the gut microbiota was lower in the AD group. LEfSe analysis showed a higher abundance of Anaerostipes caccae, Eubacterium hallii, and Bifidobacterium bifidum in AD individuals, with Akkermansia muciniphila, Roseburia intestinalis, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, and Rothia mucilaginosa in controls. Meanwhile, functional profiles showed that the pathway of lipid metabolism had a higher proportion in the AD group, and the pathway of xenobiotics biodegradation was abundant in controls. Among urinary organic acids, adipic acid, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, tartaric acid, homovanillic acid, 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, aconitic acid, and 2-hydroxyhippuric acid were richer in the AD group. However, only adipic acid remained significant in the multivariate analysis (OR = 1.513, 95% CI [1.042, 2.198], P = 0.030). In the correlation analysis, Roseburia intestinalis had a negative correlation with aconitic acid (r = -0.14, P = 0.02), and the latter was positively correlated with adipic acid (r = 0.41, P = 0.006). Besides, the pathway of xenobiotics biodegradation seems to inversely correlate with adipic acid (r = -0.42, P = 0.18). The gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of AD in autistic children, and more well-designed studies are warranted to explore the underlying mechanism.

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9. Huber CR, Fanaro Z, Soti V. Gender Trends in Psychotropic Medication Use in Autism. Cureus;2022 (Jun);14(6):e26447.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that includes differences in social communication and restrictive, repetitive behavior. Its diagnosis is far more common in men than women. Therefore, a female phenotype of autism might not concern caregivers or be detected early by clinical assessments. Given that medications address problematic behaviors rather than autism, different problems associated with autism necessitate other treatments. We reviewed existing literature on gender differences in psychotropic drug usage in autism patients and found that antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and mood stabilizers were more common in females, while stimulants and antipsychotics were predominant in males. This review highlights that autistic men and women receive different pharmacologic agents, likely attributable to gender-specific trends in presenting problematic behaviors.

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10. Longhurst P, Clark L. Integrating the Autistic Experience Into Existing Models for Disordered Eating. Front Psychol;2022;13:926415.

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11. Menashe I, Regev O, Hadar A, Meiri G, Michaelovski A, Dinstein I, Hershkovitz R. Reply: Methodological drawbacks in the alleged association between foetal sonographic anomalies and autism. Brain;2022 (Jul 8)

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12. Mische Lawson L, Foster L, Hamner K, Wright L. Exploring Effects of Sensory Garments on Participation of Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Pretest-Posttest Repeated Measure Design. Occup Ther Int;2022;2022:3540271.

OBJECTIVE: Autistic children experience sensory challenges that interfere with participation and increase parent stress. Sensory-based interventions are used to address children’s behaviors affected by sensory processing difficulties, but research is limited regarding use of sensory garments to support participation of autistic children. This study explored sensory garment effects on participation, parental competence, and perceived stress of autistic children and their parents. METHOD: Twenty-one children were recruited and 17 males with ASD and atypical sensory processing patterns completed the 14-week study. The Canadian Occupational Performance (COPM) and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) were used to set and monitor participation goals. After a baseline period, children wore sensory garment(s) for 8 weeks. The COPM, GAS, Parent Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), and Parent Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) were administered four times (prebaseline, before and after the intervention, and three weeks postintervention). RESULTS: There were moderate to large significant differences in both COPM and GAS scores after the intervention and from the beginning to the end of the study indicating sensory garments may improve participation of autistic children. There were no significant differences in PSI or PSOC at any timepoint. Two children rejected the garments. CONCLUSIONS: Parent- or child-selected sensory garments may improve participation in individually meaningful activities for children who can tolerate wearing them. Children’s improvement in participation did not improve parent stress or competence, possibly due to the passive nature of the intervention. More research is needed explore the influence of heterogeneous sensory patterns on response to intervention.

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13. Nishigori T, Hashimoto K, Mori M, Suzuki T, Watanabe M, Imaizumi K, Murata T, Kyozuka H, Ogata Y, Sato A, Shinoki K, Yasumura S, Fujimori K, Nishigori H, Hosoya M. Association between maternal prenatal psychological distress and autism spectrum disorder among 3-year-old children: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study. J Dev Orig Health Dis;2022 (Jul 8):1-7.

Maternal prenatal psychological distress, which includes depression and anxiety, affects the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is no consistent knowledge regarding at which term during pregnancy psychological distress affects the risk of ASD among children. We used a dataset obtained from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, which is a nationwide prospective birth cohort study, to evaluate the association between the six-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and ASD among 3-year-old children. A total of 78,745 children were analyzed, and 355 of them were diagnosed with ASD (0.45%). The maternal K6 was administered twice during pregnancy: at a median of 15.1 weeks (M-T1) and at that of 27.4 weeks (M-T2) of gestation. Multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the group with a maternal K6 score of ≥5 at both M-T1 and M-T2 was significantly associated with ASD among the children (adjusted odds ratio, 1.440; 95% confidence interval, 1.104-1.877) compared to the group with a score of ≤4 at both M-T1 and M-T2. There was no significant difference between the group with a score of ≥5 only at M-T1 or M-T2 and that with a score of ≤4 at both M-T1 and M-T2. In conclusion, from the first to the second half of pregnancy, continuous maternal psychological distress was associated with ASD among 3-year-old children. Contrarily, in the group without persistent maternal psychological distress during pregnancy, there was no significant association.

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14. Perez-Fernandez C, Matamala Montoya M, Morales-Navas M, Guardia-Escote L, Cabré M, Colomina MT, Giménez E, Sánchez-Santed F. Influence of Gestational Chlorpyrifos Exposure on ASD-like Behaviors in an fmr1-KO Rat Model. Mol Neurobiol;2022 (Jul 8)

Based on previous reports, exposure to pesticides could be linked to the prevalence increase of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Gestational exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) has been associated with ASD diagnosis in humans and ASD-like behaviors in rodents. However, ASD severity degree results from the complex relationship between genetic background and environmental factors. Thus, animals with a genetic vulnerability and prenatally exposed to CPF could have a more severe ASD-like phenotype. Fragile X syndrome is one of the most common monogenic causes of ASD, characterized by a mutation in the X chromosome which alters the expression of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Based on this, some fmr1 knockout (KO) rodent models have been developed to study the physiological and genetic basis of ASD. Both fmr1-KO and wild-type male rats (F2 generation) were used in the present study. F1 pregnant females were randomly exposed to 1 mg/kg/mL/day of CPF (s.c.) from GD12.5-15.5 or vehicle. Different behavioral, developmental, and molecular variables were analyzed in F2 males. KO rats were heavier, emitted altered USVs, were socially inefficient, reacted more to a novel stimulus, were hyperactive when exploring a new context, but hypoactive when exploring anxiety-inducing environments, and had an upregulated hippocampal expression of the grin2c gene. When exposed to low doses of CPF during gestation, these KO rats showed decreased climbing capacity, dysfunctional social interaction, and increased hippocampal expression for kcc1 and 5ht2c genes. Gestational CPF exposure increased the ASD-like phenotype in those animals with a genetic vulnerability, although its effect was less generalized than expected. It is the first time that this additive effect of CPF exposure and the fmr1-KO genetic vulnerability model is explored concerning social traits or any other behavior.

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15. Qiao H, Tian Y, Huo Y, Man HY. Role of the DUB enzyme USP7 in dendritic arborization, neuronal migration, and autistic-like behaviors in mice. iScience;2022 (Jul 15);25(7):104595.

Duplication and haploinsufficiency of the USP7 gene are implicated in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but the role for USP7 in neurodevelopment and contribution to ASD pathogenesis remain unknown. We find that in primary neurons, overexpression of USP7 increases dendritic branch number and total dendritic length, whereas knockdown leads to opposite alterations. Besides, USP7 deubiquitinates the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP). The USP7-induced increase in XIAP suppresses caspase 3 activity, leading to a reduction in tubulin cleavage and suppression of dendritic pruning. When USP7 is introduced into the brains of prenatal mice via in utero electroporation (IUE), it results in abnormal migration of newborn neurons and increased dendritic arborization. Importantly, intraventricular brain injection of AAV-USP7 in P0 mice leads to autistic-like phenotypes including aberrant social interactions, repetitive behaviors, as well as changes in somatosensory sensitivity. These findings provide new insights in USP7-related neurobiological functions and its implication in ASD.

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16. Raghavan R, Anand NS, Wang G, Hong X, Pearson C, Zuckerman B, Xie H, Wang X. Association between cord blood metabolites in tryptophan pathway and childhood risk of autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Transl Psychiatry;2022 (Jul 9);12(1):270.

Alterations in tryptophan and serotonin have been implicated in various mental disorders; but studies are limited on child neurodevelopmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This prospective cohort study examined the associations between levels of tryptophan and select metabolites (5-methoxytryptophol (5-MTX), 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), serotonin, N-acetyltrytophan) in cord plasma (collected at birth) and physician-diagnosed ASD, ADHD and other developmental disabilities (DD) in childhood. The study sample (n = 996) derived from the Boston Birth Cohort, which included 326 neurotypical children, 87 ASD, 269 ADHD, and 314 other DD children (mutually exclusive). These participants were enrolled at birth and followed-up prospectively (from October 1, 1998 to June 30, 2018) at the Boston Medical Center. Higher levels of cord 5-MTX was associated with a lower risk of ASD (aOR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.77) and ADHD (aOR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.96) per Z-score increase, after adjusting for potential confounders. Similarly, children with cord 5-MTX ≥ 25th percentile (vs. <25th percentile) had a reduction in ASD (aOR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.49) and ADHD risks (aOR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.29, 0.70). In contrast, higher levels of cord tryptophan, 5-HTP and N-acetyltryptophan were associated with higher risk of ADHD, with aOR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.51; aOR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.61; and aOR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.53, respectively, but not with ASD and other DD. Cord serotonin was not associated with ASD, ADHD, and other DD. Most findings remained statistically significant in the sensitivity and subgroup analyses.

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17. Rødgaard EM, Jensen K, Miskowiak KW, Mottron L. Representativeness of autistic samples in studies recruiting through social media. Autism Res;2022 (Jul 9)

Survey-based research with recruitment through online channels is a convenient way to obtain large samples and has recently been increasingly used in autism research. However, sampling from online channels may be associated with a high risk of sampling bias causing findings not to be generalizable to the autism population. Here we examined autism studies that have sampled on social media for markers of sampling bias. Most samples showed one or more indicators of sampling bias, in the form of reversed sex ratio, higher employment rates, higher education level, lower fraction of individuals with intellectual disability, and later age of diagnosis than would be expected when comparing with for example population study results from published research. Findings from many of the included studies are therefore difficult to generalize to the broader autism population. Suggestions for how research strategies may be adapted to address some of the problems are discussed. LAY SUMMARY: Online surveys offer a convenient way to recruit large numbers of participants for autism research. However, the resulting samples may not fully reflect the autism population. Here we investigated the samples of 36 autism studies that recruited participants online and found that the demographic composition tended to deviate from what has been reported about the autism population in previous research. The results may thus not be generalizable to autism in general.

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18. Sagi-Dain L, Weisz B, Krajden KH, Singer A, Yaron Y, Maymon R. Methodological drawbacks in the alleged association between foetal sonographic anomalies and autism. Brain;2022 (Jul 8)

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19. Salari N, Rasoulpoor S, Shohaimi S, Jafarpour S, Abdoli N, Khaledi-Paveh B, Mohammadi M. The global prevalence of autism spectrum disorder: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. Ital J Pediatr;2022 (Jul 8);48(1):112.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the serious developmental disorders that is usually diagnosed below the age of three years. Although the severity of the disease’s symptoms varies from patient to patient, the ability to communicate with others is affected in all forms of ASD. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ASD in high-risk groups by continent. METHODS: The present study was conducted by systematic review and meta-analysis from 2008 to July 2021. Databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, SID, Magiran, Web of Science (WoS), and Google Scholar from 2008 to July 2021 were searched to find related studies. Data were analysed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 2). RESULTS: A total of 74 studies with 30,212,757 participants were included in this study. The prevalence of ASD in the world was 0.6% (95% confidence interval: 0.4-1%). Subgroup analyses indicated that the prevalence of ASD in Asia, America, Europe, Africa and Australia was 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1-1), 1% (95% CI: 0.8-1.1), 0.5% (95% CI: 0.2-1), 1% (95% CI: 0.3-3.1), 1.7% (95% CI: 0.5-6.1) respectively. CONCLUSION: ASD imposes a heavy health burden on communities around the world. Early detection of ASD can reduce the incidence of developmental disorders and improve patients’ communication skills. Therefore, health policymakers need to be aware of the prevalence and increasing trend of ASD to implement appropriate planning and interventions to reduce its consequences.

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20. Sanchez M, Bullen JC, Zajic MC, McIntyre N, Mundy P. Behavioral gender differences in school-age children with autism. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry;2022 (Jul 9)

This study examined differences in internalizing and externalizing behaviors between school-aged boys and girls diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eighty-nine children between the ages of 8 and 16 years participated in this study: 17 girls (M = 11.5 years, SD = 2.3) and 72 boys (M = 11.3 years, SD = 2.2). Participants were matched on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition and Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ > 64). The results indicated that, girls had higher reported instances of Bullying, less Anger Control, and poorer Emotional Self-Control than boys on the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition. Groups did not differ on subscales of the Social Communication Scale. While evidence of increased externalizing behaviors is less common in girls, there is evidence supporting these differing behaviors that warrant further research.

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21. Scott M, Leppanen J, Allen M, Jarrold C, Sedgewick F. Longitudinal Analysis of Mental Health in Autistic University Students Across an Academic Year. J Autism Dev Disord;2022 (Jul 8):1-10.

BACKGROUND: Autistic people have worse mental health (MH) than non-autistic people. This proof-of-concept study explored feasibility of longitudinal research with autistic university students, focusing on their MH and coping styles across an academic year. METHODS: Twenty-two students took part at all timepoints. They completed four rounds of online MH questionnaires. RESULTS: Over 80% of students were retained. They started the year with high levels of all MH issues, which remained stable across the year. Network Change analysis showed the connections between MH and coping style changed over time. CONCLUSIONS: Autistic students are engaged participants who are likely to take part in longitudinal research. While MH levels were stable, it may be that coping styles are a useful target for intervention.

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