Background: The Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) is a checklist for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly used in research and clinical practice. While the original validation study suggested that the SCQ was an accurate ASD screener with satisfactory sensitivity and specificity, subsequent studies have yielded mixed results, with some revealing low sensitivity, low specificity, and low utility in some settings.
Method: The present study examined the psychometric properties of the SCQ as well as the individual difference characteristics of 187 individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who were misclassified or accurately classified by the SCQ in a clinic-referred sample.
Though there is evidence autism identification has been inequitable for populations who are culturally and linguistically minoritized, there is limited research that explains the issue of disproportionality and factors contributing to its occurrence, especially within an educational setting. To explore contributors to racial/ethnic disparities in autism special education eligibility, the current investigation evaluated child and evaluation characteristics as they relate to the absence of autism eligibility. Data were obtained from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network Study and included children with behavioral characteristics consistent with autism and educational evaluation records.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessing cognitive development is critical in clinical research of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, collecting cognitive data from clinically administered assessments can add a significant burden to clinical research in ASD due to the substantial cost and time required, and it is often prohibitive in large-scale studies. There is a need for more efficient, but reliable, methods to estimate cognitive functioning for researchers, clinicians, and families.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Autism spectrum disorder (autism) is a heterogeneous condition that poses challenges in describing the needs of individuals with autism and making prognoses about future outcomes. We applied a newly proposed definition of profound autism to surveillance data to estimate the percentage of children with autism who have profound autism and describe their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.
Methods: We analyzed population-based surveillance data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network for 20 135 children aged 8 years with autism during 2000-2016.
Problem/condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Period Covered: 2020.
Description Of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network is an active surveillance program that estimates prevalence and characteristics of ASD and monitors timing of ASD identification among children aged 4 and 8 years.
MMWR Surveill Summ
March 2023
Problem/condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Period Covered: 2020.
Description Of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network is an active surveillance program that provides estimates of the prevalence of ASD among children aged 8 years.
Purpose: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence information is necessary for identifying community needs such as addressing disparities in identification and services.
Methods: Seven Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network sites participated in a pilot project to link statewide health and education data to generate statewide and county-level prevalence estimates for a broader age range for their states for the first time.
Results: Statewide prevalence of ASD for ages 3-21 years in 2018 ranged from 1.
Previous research has identified that patterns of cooccurring conditions (CoCs) associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differ based on the presence of intellectual disability (ID). This study explored the association of documented CoCs among 8-year-old children with ASD and ID (ASD+ID, n = 2416) and ASD without ID (ASD-ID, n = 5372) identified by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, surveillance years (SYs) 2012 and 2014. After adjusting for demographic variables, record source, surveillance site, and SY, children with ASD+ID, as compared with children with ASD-ID, were more likely to have histories of nonspecific developmental delays and neurological disorders documented in their records but were less likely to have behavioral and psychiatric disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe study examined timing of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identification in education versus health settings for 8-year-old children with ASD identified through records-based surveillance. The study also examined type of ASD symptoms noted within special education evaluations. Results indicated that children with records from only education sources had a median time to identification of ASD over a year later than children with records from health sources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Previously reported data regarding growth parameters in individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) are inconsistent. A longitudinal analysis of height and BMI in a large number of individuals with FXS was conducted.
Methods: Age- and sex-specific z scores for height and BMI of 1,223 individuals with FXS were calculated based on published normative data.
Background/aims: Persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities and who exhibit challenging behaviors are often prescribed medication to control behavior. Little is known about the environmental factors that may be associated with taking these medications.
Methods And Outcomes: This study examined the association between individual and intermediate or environmental factors and the documented use of medication for clients with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) who exhibit challenging behavior, using the 2014-15 National Core Indicators Adult Consumer Survey dataset.
Objective: This paper provides clinical guidance supported by the literature on conducting diagnostic evaluations for young children suspected of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Method: Authors provided a summary of clinical recommendations and evidence-based strategies for providing diagnostic evaluations for young children suspected of having ASD that are supported by the existing literature.
Results: ASD is a complex condition that typically presents in the first couple years of a child's life.
Problem/condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Period Covered: 2018.
Description Of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network is an active surveillance program that estimates ASD prevalence and monitors timing of ASD identification among children aged 4 and 8 years.
Problem/condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Period Covered: 2018.
Description Of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network conducts active surveillance of ASD.
Background: Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have lower engagement in their communities, higher rates of unemployment/underemployment, and continued difficulties with challenging behavior compared to their neurotypical peers. Multi-family psychoeducation emphasizes education and problem-solving with the goal of improving these outcomes for the individual with the disability.
Methods: Using a randomized waitlist control design, the present study evaluated a multi-family group psychoeducation intervention, Working Together, for adults on the autism spectrum without intellectual disability (n = 40).
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the education of children around the world, forcing a large proportion of teaching to be carried out remotely. The implications of this disruption have yet to be fully elucidated, but initial assessments suggest that COVID-19-related school closures and reliance on virtual learning may have a long-term negative impact on educational attainment and future earnings as well as life expectancy of children in the United States. Among children with neurodegenerative disorders, such as neuronopathic mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS disorders), the effects of the pandemic are likely to be even greater.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Autism Dev Disord
February 2022
A global pandemic has significantly impacted the ability to conduct diagnostic evaluations for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the wake of the coronavirus, autism centers and providers quickly needed to implement innovative diagnostic processes to adapt in order to continue serve patient needs while minimizing the spread of the virus. The International Collaborative for Diagnostic Evaluation of Autism (IDEA) is a grassroots organization that came together to discuss standards of care during the pandemic and to provide a forum wherein providers communicated decisions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe heterogeneity inherent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) makes the identification and diagnosis of ASD complex. We survey a large number of diagnostic tools, including screeners and tools designed for in-depth assessment. We also discuss the challenges presented by overlapping symptomatology between ASD and other disorders and the need to determine whether a diagnosis of ASD or another diagnosis best explains the individual's symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders it is also one of the most heterogeneous conditions, making identification and diagnosis complex. The importance of a stable and consistent diagnosis cannot be overstated. An accurate diagnosis is the basis for understanding the individual and establishing an individualized treatment plan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA large number of adults and children consume soy in various forms, but little information is available regarding potential neurological side effects. Prior work indicates an association between the consumption of soy-based diets and seizure prevalence in mouse models of neurological disease and in children with autism. Herein, we sought to evaluate potential associations between the consumption of soy-based formula during infancy and disease comorbidities in persons with fragile X syndrome (FXS), while controlling for potentially confounding issues, through a retrospective case-control survey study of participants with FXS enrolled in the Fragile X Online Registry with Accessible Research Database (FORWARD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
June 2021
Objective: Social communication deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are commonly represented as a single behavioral domain. However, increased precision of measurement of social communication is needed to promote more nuanced phenotyping, both within the autism spectrum and across diagnostic boundaries.
Method: A large sample (N = 1,470) of 4- to 10-year-old children was aggregated from across 4 data sources, and then randomly split into testing and validation samples.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry
January 2021
Background: Concerns have been raised that scores on standard measures of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms may differ as a function of sex. However, these findings are hindered by small female samples studied thus far. The current study evaluated if, after accounting for age, IQ, and language level, sex affects ASD severity estimates from diagnostic measures among children with ASD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProblem/condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Period Covered: 2016.
Description Of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network is an active surveillance program that provides estimates of the prevalence of ASD among children aged 8 years whose parents or guardians live in 11 ADDM Network sites in the United States (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin).