Extremely Preterm Born Children at Very High Risk for Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study aimed to provide a more comprehensive picture of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a geographic cohort of extremely preterm born adolescents by using established diagnostic instruments in addition to screening instruments. 53 participants passed a screening procedure with two screening instruments and a diagnostic evaluation with a semi-structured assessment and a parent interview. 28 % of the adolescents had a community based clinical diagnosis of ASD. When research diagnoses were also taken into account, this rate increased to 40 %. Intellectual disability, language impairment and behavioural difficulties are characteristic for these children with ASD. This study is to our knowledge the first to use ASD-specific diagnostic instruments to confirm ASD diagnoses in extremely preterm born children in early adolescence. The study expands findings of previous research and raises the need for follow-up into late childhood and early adolescence.

Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers Born Very Preterm: Estimated Prevalence and Usefulness of Screeners and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS).

This study estimated ASD prevalence in a cohort of 3-year-old very preterm children (N = 55) and investigated the usefulness of parent-reported ASD screeners and the ADOS-2. 12.7% received an ASD diagnosis by clinical judgment based on DSM-5 criteria. An additional 14.5% were classified as having a broader-autism-phenotype outcome. Sensitivity values for the screeners were poor, whereas specificity values ranged from poor to excellent. The ADOS-2 identified all children with ASD and had a fair specificity. These findings confirm the elevated ASD prevalence made by previous studies with preterm children but also highlight the challenges of successfully identifying ASD in this at-risk group. Caution is warranted when interpreting results of ASD instruments with the currently available cut-off scores and algorithms, especially when developmental challenges are present.

Predicting cognitive development and early symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in preterm children: The value of temperament and sensory processing.

This study was the first to longitudinally explore the extent to which early temperament and sensory processing were of predictive value for cognitive development and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptomatology in a sample of preterm children (N = 50, 22 girls, mean gestational age 27 weeks). At the corrected ages of 10, 18, and 24 months, sensory processing and temperament were assessed, as were cognitive development and ASD symptoms at 36 months. Better cognitive development was predicted by fewer hospitalisation days at birth and by lower Activity Level at 18 months. Temperamental subscales of Negative Affect showed associations with both parent-reported and observational measures of ASD symptomatology, whereas sensory processing only had predictive value for parent-reported symptoms of ASD. The usefulness of temperament and sensory processing for prediction of ASD symptom severity and cognitive outcomes became clear in the second year of life. The results indicate that this area of research is worth additional investigation in the extreme and very preterm population, to explore in further detail whether these two concepts might be able to provide information about which preterms are more likely to develop ASD or cognitive impairments.