Brief report: adaptive behavior and cognitive skills for toddlers on the autism spectrum

Practitioner's guide to assessment of autism spectrum disorders in infants and toddlers

Recent advances in clinical research have made it possible to diagnosis autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as early as the second year of life. The diagnostic process early in development is often complex, and thus, familiarity with the most recent findings in clinical assessment instruments, early symptoms, and developmental trajectories of young children with autism is essential. This paper provides an empirically based practitioner's guide to issues and concerns related to early diagnosis of ASD in very young children, documentation of the course and patterns of ASD symptomatology in infants and toddlers, and current understanding in the field of diagnostic outcomes of children identified in the first and second year of life.

Developmental trajectories in adolescents and adults with autism: the case of daily living skills

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal course of daily living skills in a large, community-based sample of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over a 10-year period.

METHOD

Adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 397) were drawn from an ongoing, longitudinal study of individuals with ASD and their families. A comparison group of 167 individuals with Down syndrome (DS) were drawn from a linked longitudinal study. The Waisman Activities of Daily Living Scale was administered four times over a 10-year period.

RESULTS

We used latent growth curve modeling to examine change in daily living skills. Daily living skills improved for the individuals with ASD during adolescence and their early 20s, but plateaued during their late 20s. Having an intellectual disability was associated with lower initial levels of daily living skills and a slower change over time. Individuals with DS likewise gained daily living skills over time, but there was no significant curvature in the change.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research should explore what environmental factors and interventions may be associated with continued gains in daily living skills for adults with ASD.

Motor characteristics of young children referred for possible autism spectrum disorder

PURPOSE

To examine motor characteristics of children referred for evaluation for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III).

METHODS

BSID-III scores were collected through retrospective chart review for 30 children (mean age = 31.57 ± 6 months) admitted to an outpatient autism evaluation clinic.

RESULTS

Children referred to an ASD clinic demonstrated a mean delay of 6 months for gross motor skills and 8 months for fine motor skills. There were no differences in total score or item analysis in group comparisons of motor characteristics in young children who did or did not receive a diagnosis of ASD.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that a delay in fine and gross motor skills at an early age is a characteristic of infants referred to an ASD clinic. Furthermore, the BSID-III may not be sensitive enough to distinguish between referred children with and without ASD.