Longitudinal changes in Scores on the Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised (ADI-R) in pre-school children with autism: Implications for diagnostic classification and symptom stability.

We prospectively examined mean changes in Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) Total and Domains scores and stability of the ADI-R diagnostic classification in 28 children with autism initially assessed at age 2-4 years and reassessed 2 years later. Mean Total, Social Interaction, and Communication scores decreased significantly from Time 1 to Time 2 Restricted/repetitive Domain mean scores did not change over time. The ADI-R diagnostic classification was stable in 67% of children using the current published criteria.

Autism symptoms in toddlers with Down syndrome: a descriptive study.

Background: Research suggests that children with Down syndrome may be at increased risk of having an autism spectrum disorder; however, previous studies have not utilized comprehensive, state-of-the-art diagnostic tools to address the question of comorbid autism and Down syndrome.

Method: Comprehensive evaluations for autism were conducted in 20 2-year-old children with Down syndrome. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) were administered by experienced clinicians, who then determined if the child presented with significant symptoms of autism.

Pragmatic language profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorders and Williams syndrome.

Purpose: To describe and compare the pragmatic language profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and Williams syndrome (WS) on a standardized measure to determine whether a standard pragmatics tool can differentiate between 2 groups of children with opposing social presentations and pragmatic language difficulties.

Method: Twenty-two parents of school-age children with ASD, 21 parents of school-age children with WS, and 19 parents of school-age typically developing children rated their child on the Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition (CCC-2; D. Bishop, 2003), a standardized pragmatic language assessment tool.

Emotional responsivity in young children with Williams syndrome.

The hypothesis that young children with Williams syndrome show higher rates of emotional responsivity relative to other children with developmental disabilities was explored. Performance of 23 young children with Williams syndrome and 30 MA-matched children with developmental disabilities of nonspecific etiologies was compared on an adaptation of Repacholi and Gopnik's (1997) "Yummy-Yucky" task. Results show that children with Williams syndrome were more likely to mimic and/or imitate facial affect and vocalizations than children in the mixed comparison group.

Language phenotypes and intervention planning: bridging research and practice.

This paper focuses on the communication and language phenotypes associated with three genetic disorders: Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and fragile X syndrome. It is argued that there is empirical evidence that these disorders predispose children to specific profiles of strength and weakness in some areas of speech, language, and communication, and that intervention planning for children with each syndrome may take an approach informed by these profiles. Issues related to within-group variability, shared outcomes among syndromes, and the need for empirical validation for syndrome-specific recommendations are discussed.

A Case Study of Early Development in Williams Syndrome: Implications for Early Intervention.

The aim of this article is to provide an in-depth description of the behavioral phenotype of Williams syndrome in a preschool-aged child. Williams syndrome is a neurodevelopmental, multisystem genetic disorder associated with mental retardation that predisposes individuals to a characteristic pattern of strengths and weaknesses in neuropsychological functioning. While much is known about functioning in adults, very few descriptions of early development are available in the literature.

Nonverbal requesting and problem-solving by toddlers with down syndrome.

The association between nonverbal requesting (as measured by the Early Social Communication Scales) and problem-solving skills (as measured by an object retrieval task) was examined in 16 toddlers who had Down syndrome, 18 toddlers with developmental disabilities of mixed etiologies, and 19 typically developing infants and toddlers. Toddlers with Down syndrome showed fewer instrumental requests than did those in the typically developing group, but equal numbers of social routine requests. Toddlers with Down syndrome also showed poorer problem-solving strategies and received more help than children in both comparison groups on the object-retrieval task.

Linguistic and cognitive functioning and autism symptoms in young children with fragile X syndrome.

Linguistic and cognitive profiles were examined in 18 children with autism and 18 children with fragile X syndrome (mean ages = 34 months). State-of-the-art diagnostic procedures for autism symptom identification were administered. Eight children with fragile X met criteria for autism.