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A Scoping Review of Sex/Gender Differences in Social Communication Skills and Behaviors of Autistic Youth—Are Sex/Gender-Specific Interventions Needed?

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Abstract

Despite a known male dominance (4:1) in autism diagnoses, there remains a lack of clarity surrounding sex/gender differences in the social communication skills and behaviors of autistic children/adolescents. While research supports the importance of interventions for social-communication skill development in autistic children/adolescents, a review of the literature in the context of intervention application based on sex/gender differences has not occurred. The aim of this review is to provide a synthesis of available literature investigating sex/gender differences in the social communication skills and social skills of autistic children/adolescents. Results indicate preliminary support for sex/gender differences in social behaviors and social-communication skill and behavior development, which may support adaptations to adolescent social skills interventions. There is no evidence supporting adaptations to early interventions.

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Notes

  1. Many of the studies included in the current review have conflated sex and gender or are not clear about which they are addressing. That is, it is unclear whether the samples specified sex versus gender and/or included cisgender or transgender youth within their samples. Therefore, the terms sex/gender will be used throughout this paper.

  2. A reviewer identified a potential ethical problem with the inclusion of this publication due to current controversy and retraction of numerous articles from 2012 to 2014. The study included within this review was published prior to this time period, as was the measure developed by Matson.

  3. A reviewer identified that social attention may be a precursor of social communication skills but not necessarily a social skill per se.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, 62 Arch St., Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Laura de la Roche & Elizabeth Kelley

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  1. Laura de la Roche
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Fig. 1
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PRISMA Flow Diagram

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de la Roche, L., Kelley, E. A Scoping Review of Sex/Gender Differences in Social Communication Skills and Behaviors of Autistic Youth—Are Sex/Gender-Specific Interventions Needed?. Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-024-00451-4

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