Behavioral characteristics of autism spectrum disorder in very preterm birth children.

The preterm autism group was small, with 18 children analyzed, so the finding needs confirmation. 1 preterm child with severe cerebral palsy and profound intellectual disability was excluded, so the result does not describe the most disabled preterm children. The examiner knew which children were born preterm, which could influence observation. Term autism children were recruited from clinics, not from the same population cohort, so the groups may differ in ways other than preterm birth. Parent interview relies on caregiver recall, and parents of preterm children may report behavior differently. Children were assessed at age 5, not earlier, so the study does not show how these patterns appear before the usual intervention window.

The paper reports funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan and National Cheng Kung University. No competing interests statement is provided in the supplied text.

Do not read the better peer relationship and socioemotional reciprocity scores as evidence that preterm birth improves social outcomes. The clinician-observed overall severity did not differ, the preterm autism group was small, and parent report could be biased.