autism: it´s not just for boys
Using interactive data visualization to promote discussions in autism research about girls and women with autism.
Data Visualization of autism research.
Methods
Literature review, Data Analysis, Data Visualization
Tools
Html, Javascript, Tableau, Excel
Team
Sara Milkes Espinosa (Data analaysis and visualization, programming), Stephanie Lee (data analysis, video)
Duration
Februrary 2021 to May 2021
Problem Space
Researchers have focused their efforts in studying boys and men with autism which has resulted in research built on majority male samples, leaving us with little information on how autism is presented in females with autism. We seek to promote discussions among autism researchers and provide visualization tools for families of girls with autism to bring attention to this matter.
Process
Analyze a meta- review dataset collected by the CDC reviewing autism studies carried out
around the world from 1966 to 2020. The dataset contains 192 entries recording variables such as country, duration of the study, research methods, and other characteristics of the populations surveyed.
Our goal is to use the power of storytelling with data visualizations to empower girls and women on the spectrum, support their parents/guardians/ and advocates, and challenge researchers and public health administrators to address female autism in their conversations and research
Tasks we support
Identify historical trends in autism research with girls and women
Compare studies across different years and countries
In depth Interviews
Survey
Verify and contest research findings form other publications
Explore kinds of methods used in studies looking at sex differences in autism
Outcomes
Our dashboards have received hundreds of visits! We deployed a website to enable a narrative description of our project here.