Sex/gender (S/G) differences in ASD language profiles have been poorly investigated. The present study aims to explore whether male (M) and female (F) children with ASD and with normal non-verbal cognitive abilities differ in their linguistic profiles. A sample of 76 Italian children with ASD (range: 4.9–8 years), including 50 Ms and 26 Fs, was retrospectively recruited. Language profiles were analyzed using standardized tests for the evaluation of receptive and expressive vocabulary as well as grammar. Grammatical comprehension was the most impaired domain compared to the other language measures in both M and F children. Comparing language profiles between S/G, Fs showed significantly better scores than Ms in grammatical production (p = 0.002), and Ms showed better active negative sentence comprehension (p = 0.035). Moreover, comparing the language profiles between Ms and Fs with a receptive disorder, Fs had significantly worse grammatical comprehension and better grammatical production than Ms. Even among children without a receptive disorder, Fs had significantly higher grammatical production scores. The S/G differences in language profile, particularly better expressive language in Fs than Ms, can partially contribute to the delayed ASD diagnosis or underdiagnosis of Fs without intellectual disability. Finally, the results document the importance of accurately investigating both expressive and receptive abilities in children with ASD.

Background: Co-occurring conditions and psychiatric comorbidities are more frequently observed in autistic individuals than in typically developing populations. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the agreement of parent- and self-reported psychopathological assessment using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) and the Youth Self Report (YSR/11-18), respectively, in autistic adolescents without intellectual impairment. Methods: 54 autistic adolescents without intellectual impairment (11–18 years; M = 14.73; SD = 2.28) were assessed with a psychiatric and psychological evaluation conducted by expert clinicians also using self- and parent-reported scales and semi-structured interviews (K-SADS PL, CDI, MASC) including CBCL/6-18 and YSR/11-18. Results: According to clinical judgment, over 90% of participants had at least a comorbidity: anxiety (68.5%) and mood disorder (57.4%) were the most frequent. The results indicate significant discrepancies between parent- and self-reports across the three summary scales, which assess emotional and behavioral problems, as well as their combined presentation, often observed in youth with ASD. Specifically, differences were found in Internalizing (p < 0.001), Externalizing (p = 0.013), and Total Problems (p < 0.001) scales. Conclusions: The findings show the lack of agreement in parent- and self-reported scales in our sample. These results suggest the need for a cross- and multi-informant approach to support clinical judgment and understand psychopathological comorbidities of autistic adolescents without intellectual impairment.

Background: The literature suggests the existence of an association between autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and subclinical electroencephalographic abnormalities (SEAs), which show a heterogeneous prevalence rate (12.5–60.7%) within the pediatric ASD population. The aim of this study was to investigate the EEG findings in a cohort of ASD preschoolers and their correlation with the phenotypic characteristics. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data on 141 ASD preschoolers evaluated in a tertiary care university hospital over the period 2008–2018. All participants underwent at least one standard polygraphic electroencephalogram (EEG) and a clinical multidisciplinary assessment with standardized instruments. Results: 77 patients (55%) showed SEAs, which were mainly represented by epileptiform discharges (p < 0.00001), especially focal and multifocal (p = 0.010). Abnormal EEG (p = 0.035) and epileptiform discharges (p = 0.014) were associated with seizure onset and were predominant in sleep (p < 0.00001). Patients with abnormal tracing (p = 0.031) and slow abnormalities (p < 0.001) were significantly younger. ASD severity was not found to be correlated with EEG results, which showed a potential, albeit non-significant, association with some psychometric parameters. Very similar results were found when patients were divided according to sex. Conclusions: EEG abnormalities appear to correlate more with ASD internalizing, externalizing and emotional comorbidities, rather than with ASD core symptoms; larger samples are needed to further investigate this association.

Early identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) can significantly improve outcomes. Deficits in joint attention (JA) abilities, considered a milestone in socio-communicative development, are among the earliest indicators of ASD. The purpose of this study is to examine if the ability to disengage visual attention (DA) at 12 months could predict joint attention abilities and socio-communicative development at 24 months in a population of infants at increased likelihood and reduced likelihood to develop ASD. Latency of DA at 12 months was analyzed through an eye-tracking paradigm in a group of 56 infants at increased (IL = 29) or reduced (RL = 27) likelihood to develop ASD. JA at 12 months was assessed through items from the Early Social Communication Scales. Diagnostic status was established at 24 months, with 10 children receiving a diagnosis of ASD. A higher DA latency at 12 months is correlated with a lower frequency of JA behaviors at 12 months and with poorer JA abilities at 24 months. Altered visual attention at 12 months was also correlated with socio-communicative development at 24 months and, together with lower JA abilities at 12 months, correlated with diagnostic status. Our findings point to the potential relevance of DA and JA skills as prognostic markers and intervention targets.

Sex/gender (S/G) differences in ASD language profiles have been poorly investigated. The present study aims to explore whether male (M) and female (F) children with ASD and with normal non-verbal cognitive abilities differ in their linguistic profiles. A sample of 76 Italian children with ASD (range: 4.9 – 8 years), including 50 M and 26 F, was retrospectively recruited. Language profiles were analyzed using standardized tests for the evaluation of receptive and expressive vocabulary as well as grammar. Grammatical comprehension was the most impaired domain compared to the other language measures in both M and F children. Comparing language profiles between S/G, F showed significantly better scores than M in grammatical production (p=.002), and M showed better active negative sentences comprehension (p=.035). Moreover, comparing the language profiles between M and F with receptive disorder, F had significantly worse grammatical comprehension and better grammatical production than M. Even among children without receptive disorder, F had significantly higher grammatical production scores. The S/G differences in language profile, particularly better expressive language in F than M, can partially contribute to the delayed ASD diagnosis or underdiagnosis of F without intellectual disability. Finally, our results document the importance of accurately investigating both expressive and receptive abilities in children with ASD.