Differences of Symptom Distribution Across Adult Age in High Functioning Individuals on the Autism Spectrum Using Subscales of the Autism Spectrum Quotient.
Rob Siebes, Jan-Willem Muntjewerff, Wouter Staal
PMID 29971654WHAT IT FOUND
Adult patients' AQ scores did not differ across age groups for social, communication, and repetitive-behaviour domains.
A non-focus imagination subscale differed, with older adults higher; spouse reports closely matched patient reports.
Key findings
01The age-group comparison did not find differences in the subscales representing social, communication and repetitive and stereotyped behaviour.
02Only the imagination subscale showed an age-group difference, and the authors say this was not the focus.
03Patient self-reports and spouse reports of AQ scores corresponded closely, with differences judged too small to be clinically relevant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study compared different people in different age bands, not the same people over time, so it cannot show how symptoms change within a person as they age. Participants were adults referred to a university psychiatry clinic, not a general population sample, so the results may not apply to all adults with autism. The AQ is described as a screening questionnaire rather than a diagnostic tool, and the paper notes uncertainty about whether its subscales can compare symptom clusters across age groups. Not every patient had both self-report and spouse-report AQs; only 380 had both, and some spouses were unavailable or did not submit forms. The supplied text gives different counts for the sample: 654 patients were diagnosed with ASD, while the analysed AQ table shows 562 self-reported and 472 spouse-reported records.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that an individual's autism symptoms remain unchanged as they age. The study compared different people in different age groups, not the same people over time.