Overlap with the autism spectrum in young children with Williams syndrome. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2009 Aug;30(4):289-99
Date
08/12/2009Pubmed ID
19668090Pubmed Central ID
PMC2763277DOI
10.1097/DBP.0b013e3181ad1f9aScopus ID
2-s2.0-69349098393 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 84 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: The sociocommunicative abnormalities of young children with Williams syndrome (WS) with limited language were compared with those of children with clinical diagnoses of autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), or nonspectrum developmental disability.
METHOD: Participants were 30 children with WS and individually matched groups of participants with autism (n = 28), PDD-NOS (n = 17), and mixed etiology nonspectrum developmental disabilities (n = 16). The autism, PDD-NOS, and mixed etiology groups were matched individually to the children with WS for age, sex, and developmental level. All participants were administered the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Module 1 and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning.
RESULTS: As a group, children with WS with limited language showed fewer sociocommunicative abnormalities than children with autism, about the same level as children with PDD-NOS, and more abnormalities in reciprocity social interaction than participants in the mixed etiology group. Examination of the subgroup of participants with WS matched and compared with children with PDD-NOS indicated that half of the children showed fewer abnormalities than their individual matches with PDD-NOS, whereas half of the children with WS showed more abnormalities than their matches with PDD-NOS.
CONCLUSION: Sociocommunicative difficulties are present for many children with WS and overlap with the autism spectrum. The results of this investigation suggest that these abnormalities are not accounted for by developmental delay alone, and care should be taken to avoid diagnostic overshadowing in young children with WS.
Author List
Klein-Tasman BP, Phillips KD, Lord C, Mervis CB, Gallo FJAuthor
Bonita Klein-Tasman BA,MA,PhD Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Autistic DisorderChild Language
Child, Preschool
Communication Disorders
Developmental Disabilities
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Psychological Tests
Social Behavior
Williams Syndrome
