Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
OTI - The Israeli Autism Association, Israel.
Autism. 2024 Oct;28(10):2562-2571. doi: 10.1177/13623613241235053. Epub 2024 Mar 11.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, characterized by social communication alterations and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Typically diagnosed in early childhood, screening and diagnosis at a later age can be challenging, particularly in girls who exhibit a wider range of behaviors and characteristics. Our study set out to examine the effectiveness of the Hebrew translation of the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test, a parent report questionnaire, in identifying these diverse characteristics of autism within an Israeli sample of boys and girls. We examined parent reports on 403 (211 autistic, 192 non-autistic) children, aged 4-12 years. Results revealed the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test-Hebrew version was a valuable tool in differentiating between autistic and typically developing children, correctly identifying 93% of children with autism and 82% of typically developing children. In addition, specific items of the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test-Hebrew version were particularly useful in differentiating between autistic and non-autistic boys and autistic and non-autistic girls. Using these items, in addition to the overall score of the questionnaire, increased the correct identification of children as autistic or typically developing, especially in girls. The Childhood Autism Spectrum Test-Hebrew version test results corresponded well with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, which relies on parental input, but not with the clinician-administered Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2. Our findings highlight the potential benefits of gender-specific tools to better support correct identification of autism in boys and in girls. More research is recommended to further explore these gender differences and to validate our findings with a larger, diverse group.
自闭症是一种神经发育障碍，其特征为社交沟通障碍和受限、重复的行为。通常在幼儿期诊断，在较晚的年龄进行筛查和诊断可能具有挑战性，尤其是在表现出更广泛行为和特征的女孩中。我们的研究旨在检查儿童自闭症谱系测试的希伯来语翻译版本（家长报告问卷）在识别以色列男孩和女孩自闭症中这些不同特征的有效性。我们检查了 403 名（211 名自闭症，192 名非自闭症）4-12 岁儿童的家长报告。结果表明，儿童自闭症谱系测试-希伯来语版本是区分自闭症和正常发育儿童的有效工具，正确识别了 93%的自闭症儿童和 82%的正常发育儿童。此外，儿童自闭症谱系测试-希伯来语版本的特定项目在区分自闭症和非自闭症男孩以及自闭症和非自闭症女孩方面特别有用。使用这些项目以及问卷的总分，增加了正确识别自闭症或正常发育儿童的可能性，尤其是在女孩中。儿童自闭症谱系测试-希伯来语版本的测试结果与依赖于家长输入的自闭症诊断访谈修订版（Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised）相符，但与临床医生管理的自闭症诊断观察量表-2（Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2）不符。我们的研究结果突出了性别特异性工具的潜在优势，可更好地支持自闭症在男孩和女孩中的正确识别。建议进行更多研究，以进一步探索这些性别差异，并通过更大、更多样化的群体验证我们的研究结果。
