Topics for Discussion?

Would anyone like to suggest a topic for discussion for January?

Study Review - Sex Differences in WISC-III scores

Sex Differences in WISC-III Profiles of Children with High-functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Few studies have examined sex differences in presentation in individuals with ASDs.

Aim: Examine cognitive profiles of males and females on the WISC-III (intellectual assessment)

Sample: 26 girls, 116 boys (ages 5-16) with ASD (any ASD diagnosis) with IQ above 70; sample from Japan

Measures: WISC-III; Japanese version of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale

Results:
1. Girls scored higher than boys on the Processing Speed Index score.

2. Girls scored higher than boys on the Coding and Symbol Search subtest scores.

3. Girls scored lower than boys on the Block Design subtest.

4. Profiles of scores were similar for boys and girls in the Verbal domain.

5. Boys had a different profile of scores in the non-verbal domain; higher score on the Block Design subtest. This was not observed in the group of girls.

Do girls with ASDs demonstrate less difficulty in the area of distractibility, slowness in performance??

Caution: small sample size of girls; reduces the power of the statistical test

More research is needed!

Need much larger sample sizes
Need to examine a narrower age range
Need to look at differences within more clearly defined diagnostic categories - e.g., HFA
Need to look at findings for North American youth
Need to look at cognitive profiles of girls with ASDs versus neurotypical females

Eating Attitudes study - review and summary!

Comparison of Eating Attitudes between Adolescent Girls with and without Asperger Syndrome: Daughters' and Mothers' Reports

Yes eating problems associated with ASDs. All studies have looked at small numbers of males and at BMI, not eating attitudes.

Aims:
- explore eating attitudes of teen girls with AS
- examine level of agreement between mothers’ and daughters’ reports of eating problems

Sample:
- 56 girls with AS and 56 neurotypical girls ages 12-18
- Groups matched on age and BMI; neurotypical girls had higher full-scale IQ scores
- Diagnosed by a multidisciplinary team; used the ADOS
- Mainland Greece

Measures:
Girls and their mothers completed the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (3 subscales: dieting, bulimia and food preoccupation, and oral control); scores above 20 are of concern

Results:
- Teen girls with AS (26%) reported more eating problems than the control girls for bulimia and oral control but not dieting
- Mothers of teen girls with AS also reported more eating problems – across all 3 scales
- Across both groups, daughters report more problems than their mothers do, though the overall agreement between parent-child was high

Discussion:
- Prevalence of eating problems in girls with ASDs may be quite high
- Need longitudinal studies examining histories of eating difficulties and concerns
- Need to understand the social and cognitive similarities between AS and anorexia nervosa, e.g., rigidities, difficulties with reflective self functioning

More research is needed!

Need to look at findings for North American adolescents

Need to look at relationship between eating difficulties and degree of inflexiblity/rigidity overall

Need to examine how to treat eating disordered behavior for teens with AS

Fabulous story about a woman's special interests that have resulted in a very cool career for her!

Store Owner Manages Despite Mild Form of Autism

It takes patience to have a conversation with businesswoman Gabrielle Lopez. She talks a mile a minute, rarely makes eye contact and frequently goes off on tangents.These tendencies might inhibit a person in sales, but despite living with Asperger's Syndrome and attention deficit disorder, Gabrielle is determined to make a success of Bad Girl Designs, the downtown boutique where she sells vintage clothes and pop culture-inspired accessories she makes, herself..........

http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/651877.html

Happy new year!

Happy new year everyone! One of my hopes for the new year is that issues facing females with ASDs will gain more visibility - more research studies, more media articles, more books and resources for parents, professionals, women, and girls themselves.

I have brought home with me from work copies of the three research studies that I posted about earlier. My goal for the weekend is to read each and post a short summary / commentary. Let's see if I'm successful!

May 2009 bring everyone closer to achieving their own goals and those for their families...