Perception of Autistic Behavior: A Gender Comparison Among Lebanese University Students

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze if the perception of autistic behavior is influenced by gender from both toddlers and adults perceiving the behavior. Also, if the difference in the number of diagnoses between females and males is significantly explained by the difference in perception of autistic behavior depending on gender. To answer these questions, we administered autistic screening tool: The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M- CHAT) with small alterations (inserting typical male and female name in order to assess if there is a bias in perception) that did not change the internal validity of the scales. We administered paired t-tests to analyze the results and confirm or not our hypothesis. The results showed that the gender of toddlers significantly affects a difference in perception, however the data regarding gender of the examiner was not enough to formulate a conclusion. Hence, this hypothesis was partially confirmed. The findings indicate that gender roles and expectations can contribute to different perceptions of autistic or toddler behaviors.