B2326 - Recognising the hidden face of autismdefining the characteristics and needs of females with autistic difficulties - 23/10/2014

B number: 
B2326
Principal applicant name: 
Dr William Mandy (UCL Institute of Research Information Service, uk)
Co-applicants: 
Dr Elizabeth Pellicano (Univeristy of Bristol, UK), Dr Rachel Hiller (University of Bath, UK), Prof David Skuse (UCL Institute of Research Information Service, uk)
Title of project: 
Recognising the hidden face of autism defining the characteristics and needs of females with autistic difficulties
Proposal summary: 

AIMS

We aim to discover:

1. The rates of ASD and of the broader autism phenotype in AT+ females, compared to AT+ males, AT- females and AT- males.

2. The rates of undiagnosed ASD in AT+ females, compared to AT+ males, and the characteristics across the lifespan that are associated with undiagnosed ASD.

3. The characteristics of the female autistic phenotype. To this end we will compare AT+ males and females on current and previous measures of social communication and inflexibility. We will also investigate whether the female autistic phenotpye reflects typical gender differences, by comparing gender differences for AT+ participants with gender differences for AT- participants.

4. The needs females with childhood autistic difficulties, by assessing mental health, well being and adaptive functioning of AT+ females across their childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.

5. Risk and protective factors in childhood that influence adult outcomes for women who have AT+ in childhood, by looking for associations between individual (e.g. childhood anxiety, IQ) and environmental (parenting, socio-economic status, educational provision) factors measured prospectively in ALSPAC.

Date proposal received: 
Monday, 20 October, 2014
Date proposal approved: 
Thursday, 23 October, 2014
Keywords: 
Gender Behaviour
Primary keyword: 
Autism