Pathways to adaptive functioning in autism from early childhood to adolescence.
Susie Chandler, Virginia Carter Leno, Philippa White and 6 others
PMID 35899846WHAT IT FOUND
Higher ADHD symptoms in early childhood and adolescence were associated with lower adaptive functioning in autistic teenagers.
Autism social communication difficulties also predicted lower functioning, but behavioral and emotional problems did not.
Key findings
01Higher ADHD symptoms in early childhood and adolescence were independently associated with lower adaptive functioning in autistic adolescents.
02Higher social communication symptoms in adolescence were associated with lower adaptive functioning, while early childhood social communication symptoms were not.
03Behavioral and emotional symptoms were not associated with adaptive functioning at either timepoint.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Adaptive functioning was only measured at Time 2 (adolescence), so changes in adaptive skills over time could not be directly assessed. Different psychiatric screening measures (DBC and SDQ) were used at Time 1 and Time 2, which may affect comparability. The study relied on parent report for all key constructs except IQ, introducing potential shared method variance. IQ was only fully assessed in the intensive sub-sample at Time 2, requiring imputation for some data. The sample size for some subgroup analyses (e.g., females, IQ < 70) was relatively small.
Declared interests
Funded by the Clothworkers' Foundation and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Dr. Tony Charman has served as a paid consultant to F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Servier, and received royalties from Sage Publications and Guilford Publications. Dr. Andrew Pickles receives royalties from WPS, OUP, and ICP publishing. Other authors have no relevant conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the association between ADHD symptoms and lower adaptive functioning as evidence that treating ADHD will automatically improve adaptive skills. This is an observational study showing correlation, not causation. While ADHD symptoms are a potential modifiable factor, the study does not test the efficacy of interventions.