Exclusion of females in autism research: Empirical evidence for a "leaky" recruitment-to-research pipeline.

ABSTRACT: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by challenges in social communication and the presence of repetitive behaviors or restricted interests. Notably, males are four times as likely as females to be diagnosed with autism. Despite efforts to increase representation and characterization of autistic females, research studies consistently enroll small samples of females, or exclude females altogether. Importantly, researchers often rely on standardized measures to confirm diagnosis prior to enrollment in research studies. We retrospectively analyzed the effects of one such measure (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS) on research inclusion/exclusion rates by sex in autistic adults, all of whom had a preexisting community diagnosis of autism (n = 145, 95 male, 50 female). Usi

SUBMITTER: D'Mello AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9804357 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature