Factor analysis of the autism spectrum screening questionnaire in a population-based child sample.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate several possible factor structures of the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ).

Materials And Methods: We used the 27-item screening tool for school-aged children in a general population of 8-year-old children ( = 3,538) and compared the occurring solutions to previously published factor models.

Results: A one-factor solution and a four-factor solution were identified in Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and confirmed with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), while two-, three-, five- and six-factor solutions were rejected.

[Autism spectrum disorders in children and adolescents].

Childhood autism, Asperger's syndrome and atypical autism together make up autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) with a prevalence of 0.6-0.7%.

Validation of the Finnish Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) for clinical settings and total population screening.

We assessed the validity and determined cut-off scores for the Finnish Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ). A population sample of 8-year-old children (n = 4,408) was rated via the ASSQ by parents and/or teachers, and a subgroup of 104 children was examined via structured interview, semi-structured observation, IQ measurement, school observation, and medical records. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were diagnosed following DSM-IV-TR criteria.

Autism spectrum disorders according to DSM-IV-TR and comparison with DSM-5 draft criteria: an epidemiological study.

Objective: The latest definitions of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were specified in DSM-IV-TR in 2000. DSM-5 criteria are planned for 2013. Here, we estimated the prevalence of ASDs and autism according to DSM-IV-TR, clarified confusion concerning diagnostic criteria, and evaluated DSM-5 draft criteria for ASD posted by the American Psychiatry Association (APA) in February 2010.

Comorbid psychiatric disorders associated with Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism: a community- and clinic-based study.

The present study identifies the prevalence and types of comorbid psychiatric disorders associated with Asperger syndrome (AS)/high-functioning autism (HFA) in a combined community- and clinic-based sample of fifty 9- to 16-year-old subjects using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Present and Lifetime Version. The level of functioning was estimated using the Children's Global Assessment Scale. The results support common (prevalence 74%) and often multiple comorbid psychiatric disorders in AS/HFA; behavioral disorders were shown in 44%, anxiety disorders in 42% and tic disorders in 26%.

When does the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) predict autism spectrum disorders in primary school-aged children?

The aims of this study were, firstly, to study the association between parents' and teachers' ratings for the Finnish version of the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ), secondly, to find out whether the original cut-off scores of the ASSQ identify primary school-aged children with Asperger syndrome (AS) or autism by using the Finnish ASSQ, and thirdly, to evaluate the validity of the ASSQ. Parents and/or teachers of higher-functioning (full-scale intelligence quotient > or = 50) 8-year-old total population school children (n = 4,408) and 7-12-year-old outpatients with AS/autism (n = 47) completed the Finnish version of the ASSQ. Agreement between informants was slight.

An epidemiological and diagnostic study of Asperger syndrome according to four sets of diagnostic criteria.

Objective: This study evaluated the diagnostic process and prevalence rates of Asperger syndrome (AS) according to the DSM-IV, ICD-10, and criteria developed by Gillberg and Gillberg and by Szatmari and colleagues and clarified confusion about AS.

Method: An epidemiological study of 5,484 eight-year-old children in Finland, 4,422 (80.6%) of whom rated on the high-functioning Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire by parents and/or teacher, 125 of them screened and 110 examined by using structured interview, semistructured observation, IQ measurement, school day observation, and patient records.

Intervention,treatmentand care in autistic disorder. Challenging case reports from northern Finland.

Objectives: Autism produces characteristic patterns of behaviour, and individuals with autistic disorder (AD) have a lot in common in terms of behaviour and mannerisms. Individuals with autism, however, also have their own overall personalities, which both underlie and interact with their autism. This article focuses on challenges of identifying AD and delivering appropriate services in face of long distances and limited resources.

Associated medical disorders and disabilities in children with autistic disorder: a population-based study.

A population-based survey was conducted among 152,732 Finnish children and adolescents aged under 16 years and living in northern Finland. Diagnoses and associated medical conditions were derived from the hospital and institutional records of this area. One hundred and eighty-seven children with DSM-IV autistic disorder were identified.

Some aspects of treatment and habilitation of children and adolescents with autistic disorder in Northern-Finland.

Hospital records and data on the treatment/habilitation status of 187 children with autism aged 3-18 years were gathered from Northern Finland. The treatment programs and therapies varied, depending on the trained staff available. One-hundred and fifty-two (82.

Deficient auditory processing in children with Asperger Syndrome, as indexed by event-related potentials.

Asperger Syndrome (AS) is characterized by normal language development but deficient understanding and use of the intonation and prosody of speech. While individuals with AS report difficulties in auditory perception, there are no studies addressing auditory processing at the sensory level. In this study, event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded for syllables and tones in children with AS and in their control counterparts.