Lagging skills contribute to challenging behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability.

The study used existing data from several prior studies, not a study designed to test lagging skills and challenging behaviors. The same parents reported both challenging behaviors and lagging skills, so one reporter may have influenced both sets of scores. The study did not measure environmental demands or parental expectations, which the CPS framework says also matter. Participants were not assessed for comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, so depression scores may reflect a comorbid depression diagnosis. The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show which lagging skills came first or cause challenging behaviors. The sample included only youth with IQ above 70, so it does not speak to children with intellectual disability.

The supplied text does not report author conflicts of interest. The article is tagged as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research funding.

Do not read these results as proof that lagging skills cause challenging behaviors or that a treatment such as CPS will reduce them. The data were cross-sectional, used parent-reported measures, did not measure environmental demands, and did not test an intervention.