Faculty Collaboration Database

Autism Spectrum Disorders and Low Mental Age: Diagnostic Stability and Developmental Outcomes in Early Childhood. J Autism Dev Disord 2017 Dec;47(12):3967-3982

Date

09/02/2017

Pubmed ID

28861732

Pubmed Central ID

PMC5845818

DOI

10.1007/s10803-017-3278-y

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85028743041 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   22 Citations

Abstract

Some children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) exhibit low mental age (Low-MA; i.e., cognitive functioning below 12 months). We examined diagnosis, symptom severity, and development in children with ASD-low MA (n = 25), autistic disorder (n = 111), and PDD-NOS (n = 82) at ages two and four. We predicted that some ASD-low MA children would demonstrate just intellectual impairment and not autism symptoms on follow-up, with social deficits at age two attributable to global delays. Instead, most ASD-low MA children (96%) had an ASD at follow-up, compared to children initially diagnosed with autistic disorder (86.5%) or PDD-NOS (73.2%). They showed the least developmental progress and highest symptom severity. Results support diagnosing ASDs in children functioning below a 12-month level.

Author List

Hinnebusch AJ, Miller LE, Fein DA

Author

Lauren E. Miller PhD Assistant Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Child Development
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
Child, Preschool
Cognition
Early Diagnosis
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Intellectual Disability
Intelligence
Male
Social Behavior Disorders
Symptom Assessment