In France, 8,000 autistic children are born each year. However, according to a recent American study (presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies which took place in San Diego, United States, this April 28, 2015), girls and boys are definitely not equal when it comes to this disorder. pervasive of development.
Indeed, according to a team of researchers from the University of Baltimore (United States), the symptoms of autism that develop in little girls are less visible than those that occur in little boys.
Girls may be underdiagnosed
“Our work has shown that boys have more physical symptoms: repetitive gestures, sudden movements… Girls are more affected in terms of social interactions, explains Dr. Paul Lipkin, lead author of the study. This poses a diagnostic problem. Because their symptoms are less easily identified, girls could be under-diagnosed and therefore not benefit from appropriate care.”
To reach this conclusion, the scientists based their analyzes on a (large) panel of 50,000 people with autism. Verdict? On average, little boys were diagnosed at the age of 3.8 years, against 4 years for little girls. Even more surprisingly, the same phenomenon is found in the case of Asperger Syndrome : while boys are usually diagnosed at the age of 7.1 years, girls are only diagnosed at the age of 7.6 years.
We recall that, according to INSERM, in France, autism would affect 3 to 4 boys for 1 girl.
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