zlacker

>>geox+(OP)
Why just the males though? Is there a hypothesis for why it only affects them?

I wonder, are we simply underdianosing the women with autism as usual?

And I wonder if there's a correlation between drinking diet sodas (as opposed to naturally sweetened?) and getting your children evaluated for autism (like, say - diet soda drinkers are on average wealthier, and that correlates with better access to healthcare and more parental involvement, thus reducing underdiagnosis of autism?)

Given how sensitive obstetrics are to even small risks and how prevalent aspartame is, I'd be surprised if there is a genuine causal link here of such strong statistical effect. I mean, how many people use zofran? And yet obstetrics we're limiting its use in pregnant women just for a very very small alleged increase in the risk of heart problems in the baby.

>>atomic+j5
4 out of 5 people diagnosed with autism are male. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_differences_in_...

So, there’s a significant gender difference here, possibly with diagnosis but likely a deeper connection. Alternatively, it might impact both but this study didn’t have enough statistical power to notice the correlation.

>>Retric+W6
GP is alluding to the fact that social pressure on girls to be “nice” is so intense that many develop coping and masking mechanisms at a young age, confounding the diagnostic process. Boys have a more bohemian lifestyle and are easier to catch.

Same happens with ADD. A lot of parents are diagnosed in hindsight when their child is diagnosed. “Wait my son had ADHD because he acts like this? I acted exactly like this.”

>>hinkle+d9
If I recall there is a marked difference in ADHD between genders. In boys it manifests the way we typically imagine ADHD: the physical hyperactivity, etc., while girls are much more likely to have “inattentive” ADHD which is much more easily missed. They simply can’t hold attention on things for long and frequently have emotional outbursts but they’re aren’t as physically obvious.

>>afavou+Z9
Both presentations can manifest in either gender, but girls are more likely to have the inattentive presentation than the hyperactive one.

Inattentive is a bit of a misnomer, too—it's not that they can't hold attention on something, it's that they have a hard time controlling where their attention goes. This is another reason why this presentation often flies under the radar: "my {daughter/son} can't have ADHD, {she/he} can stay focused on {favorite activity here} for hours!"