Examining the Sex Ratio in Autism Spectrum Disorder

The higher prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among males compared to females is well documented but poorly understood. The ASD sex ratio may provide valuable insight into the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of the disorder. A review of studies examining the prevalence in ASD published in the last 5 years was conducted, revealing a mean male/female (M/F) ratio of 4. Literature examining the ASD sex ratio in relation to risk factors and associated features of ASD was also summarized. The study aimed to examine the ASD sex ratio and its association to various risk factors among an early intervention sample. Participants (n= 12,598) were children aged 17-37 months enrolled in EarlySteps, the State of Louisiana’s early intervention program. The Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtism Traits- Part 1 (BISCUIT- Part 1) and Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2) were administered to parents/caregivers as part of the EarlySteps assessment protocol. An overall ASD prevalence rate of 12.12% was found using DSM-5criteria, along with an overall M/F ratio of 3.15. Significant differences in the M/F ratio were found: between cases with and without cognitive impairment; between cases with and without advanced maternal age; across birth weight categories; and between cases with and without seizure disorder. Advanced maternal age was found to significantly increase the risk of ASD for females but not males. These findings are discussed in relation to previous research as well as theories pertaining to the male predominance in ASD

Center on Disability Studies eNewsletter, December 2023

As the year draws to a close and the holiday season is upon us, I want to extend my gratitude to our partners, collaborators, participants, students, and stakeholders on behalf of CDS. We genuinely appreciate the collective efforts that continually contribute to the success of our projects and initiatives. Looking ahead, we're gearing up for our Pac Rim Conference in February 2024, centered around the theme "Beyond Access: Building a Culture of Belonging," a concept we're deeply passionate about. This ethos guides our efforts within our unit and throughout our projects. Additionally, I encourage you to read about Dr. Steve Brown and his impactful legacy on CDS, within the AUCD network, and on Disability Culture. We celebrate his life and honor his memory

Center on Disability Studies eNewsletter, June 2023

Welcome to our summer newsletter. In this issue we highlight many events and happenings sponsored by CDS during June and July that you don’t want to miss out on. Disability Pride Month is also celebrated each year in July. Disability Pride initially started as a day of celebration in 1990, the year that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness about improving access and inclusion. The first official Disability Pride celebration occurred in 2015 to commemorate the ADA’s 25th anniversary and the Disability Pride Flag was originally designed in 2019 by Ann Magill, who with feedback within the disabled community, refined its visual elements in 2021 to be more accessible. You can read more about how the disability pride flag helps increase the community’s visibility at https://go.hawaii.edu/qEX

Senior Thesis Proposal

Senior Thesis Proposa

Bots are getting smarter: Online survey data collection in the age of sophisticated AI

2023 Symposium Caring for Data in Hawaiʻi PresentationIn early summer of 2022, our team launched an online survey using SurveyMonkey to collect data about teen health in Hawai’i for a needs assessment being conducted in collaboration with the Hawaii State Department of Health. The survey was for teens and youth with special health care needs, as well as their parents/caregivers, and aimed to collect data about needs and barriers to their healthcare. We offered an incentive of a $20 gift card for participation to reach a few hundred families within the state of Hawai’i. We used flyers with QR code and asked community partners to share via listservs and social media. Within 12 hours of sharing information with community partners, we had over 1500 survey responses. A quick look revealed that the vast majority of the responses were from bots– automated programs designed to complete online surveys offering monetary incentives. In fact, only about 50 responses of 1500 appeared to be submitted by actual humans. We quickly shut down the survey, regrouped, and did some research on survey bots, which very recently have become sophisticated enough to bypass CAPTCHA safeguards. In this presentation, we will share about our experiences in developing strategies to filter out bot responses from datasets, our audit of survey platforms and our new platform-of-choice (REDCap), pre-emptive strategies to build safeguards, and facilitate a discussion on the implications for online data collection

Differences in Developmental Concerns of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Across Racial/Ethnic Groups

PURPOSE: Parents/caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have varying types of initial concerns regarding their child\u27s development, which may be culturally bound to parents\u27 perceptions of their child\u27s development. This study investigated differences in the types of initial developmental concerns reported by parents or caregivers of different racial/ethnic groups with children in an early intervention program. METHOD: This study examined the frequency of endorsement of different types of concerns in African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic families. RESULTS: No significant differences between racial/ethnic groups were found in the endorsement of concerns related to communication, language/speech, motor, problem behavior, sensory, feeding, prematurity, attention, adaptive functioning, and medical conditions. Racial/ethnic groups differed significantly in their endorsement for social concerns. CONCLUSION: Racial/ethnic group differences were confirmed regarding initial developmental concerns related to social behavior, which may be due to cultural beliefs. The implications of these findings on early identification are discussed

Gender Differences and Similarities: Autism Symptomatology and Developmental Functioning in Young Children

A growing body of research suggests that symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may present differently in males and females. This study examined gender differences in ASD symptoms and developmental functioning, using the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtism Traits, Part 1 (BISCUIT-Part 1) and the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2nd Edition (BDI-2), amongst children aged 17-37 months meeting ASD diagnostic criteria (n = 1317). No gender differences were found in regards to overall symptom severity or symptom domains on the BISCUIT-Part 1 when gender groups were matched by cognitive ability. Females with ASD had greater motor deficits and less communication impairment compared to their male counterparts as measured by the BDI-2. Secondary analyses examining item endorsement patterns were also conducted. Implications of the findings are discussed