title: The Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ)-Revised Extended Version (ASSQ-REV): an instrument for better capturing the autism phenotype in girls? A preliminary study involving 191 clinical cases and community controls.
abstract: We wanted to develop and validate an extension of the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ)-the ASSQ Revised Extended Version (ASSQ-REV)--for better capturing the female phenotype of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Clinic girls and Clinic boys, most of whom with ASD and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Community girls without a clinical diagnosis of any kind of neuropsychiatric disorder were compared on the results of the parent-rated ASSQ and on a new set of items (ASSQ-GIRL). The ASSQ-REV discriminated well between cases and non-cases. Certain single ASSQ-GIRL items were much more typical of girls than of boys with ASD. The most striking of these were "avoids demands", "very determined", "careless with physical appearance and dress" and "interacts mostly with younger children". The issue of whether or not there is a gender-specific ASD for phenotype is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. svenny.kopp@vgregion.se
authors.forename: Svenny
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gillberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010641:Phenotype; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*