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Research has suggested a different, less visible, clinical manifestation of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in females. There is, however, limited research into possible underlying mechanisms explaining the female phenotype.

This study investigates social attention in females with ASD.

26 women diagnosed with ASD and 26 typical female controls were shown three video clips containing intense emotions. Social attention was assessed by measuring eye fixation patterns during the video clips. Autism symptoms were assessed using the informant reported Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS).

Results show normal time to first fixation to the face, but lower fixation duration to the face in women with ASD. Analyzing the visual patterns further, there were similar impairments in fixation to mouth, eyes and other facial areas. Relating social attention to autism …