Challenging behaviours at early adulthood in autism spectrum disorders: topography, risk factors and evolution.
C Rattaz, C Michelon, K Munir and 1 others
PMID 29797498WHAT IT FOUND
In young adults with autism spectrum disorder, challenging behaviours mostly persisted from adolescence to early adulthood, except hyperactivity decreased.
Greater autism severity and limited language were linked to more behaviours and self-injury; gastrointestinal problems were linked to stereotypy.
Key findings
01At early adulthood, 18% had high self-injury, 16% had low self-injury and 65% had none; irritability and hyperactivity scores were low, while lethargy and stereotypy scores were medium.
02Higher autism severity was associated with all four challenging-behaviour domains; a 5-point higher severity score was associated with 1.8 times the risk of self-injury, using few words was associated with 3.7 times the risk, and gastrointestinal disorders were associated with stereotypy.
03Between adolescence and early adulthood, hyperactivity decreased, but irritability, lethargy and stereotypy did not change significantly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The participants were a subset of a larger cohort and were not randomly recruited, so the sample may not represent all young adults with autism. Challenging behaviours were rated by parents on a checklist designed for drug trials, not as a direct observation of behaviour, so parental subjective report may affect scores. Cognitive level was sometimes a clinician estimate rather than a standardised test score, because some participants could not complete testing. The measured variables explained at most 30% of the variance, so other unmeasured factors may be involved. The inappropriate speech domain was excluded because many participants had limited language, so communication-related problem behaviour may not be fully captured.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not name a funder; the authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that communication therapy will reduce self-injury. The study observed an association between limited language and self-injury, but it did not test an intervention or show that improving language changes behaviour.