Correlates of Adaptive Functioning in Minimally Verbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Kyle M Frost, Natalie Hong, Catherine Lord
PMID 28095056WHAT IT FOUND
Milder social-communication symptoms were linked with better adaptive skills in minimally verbal children with autism, but nonverbal mental age and chronological age explained more.
Repetitive behaviours did not add this information after accounting for age and nonverbal mental age.
Key findings
01More severe social-communication symptoms on the ADOS were associated with lower Vineland age-equivalent scores across communication, socialization, daily living, and composite.
02After controlling for age, nonverbal mental age, and clinic site, social-communication symptoms explained 4% of unique variance in adaptive socialization, while nonverbal mental age and age explained more.
03Repetitive-behaviour symptoms did not significantly predict adaptive domains after controlling for age, nonverbal mental age, and clinic site.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study reports correlations, not tested treatment effects, so it cannot show that changing symptoms will change adaptive skills. The sample was minimally verbal and had lower cognitive abilities, so the relationships may not hold for more verbal children or children with higher cognitive functioning. The relationship between symptoms and adaptive functioning may change over time, but this study did not follow children longitudinally. Some IQ estimates were calculated because scores fell outside norms or instruments did not provide standard scores. The analysis used raw ADOS scores and Vineland age equivalents rather than standardised scores, and clinic sites differed in age and adaptive functioning.
Declared interests
The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research. The supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these links as proof that improving social-communication symptoms will improve adaptive skills. The paper states it cannot make statements about the effect of targeting social affect symptoms over time.