RESUMEN
Here we report the results of the subgroup analyses of an observational cohort of children whose parents completed the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) over the period of several years. A linear mixed effects model was used to evaluate longitudinal changes in ATEC scores within different patient subgroups. All groups decreased their mean ATEC score over time indicating improvement of symptoms, however there were significant differences between the groups. Younger children improved more than the older children. Children with milder ASD improved more than children with more severe ASD in the Communication subscale. There was no difference in improvement between females vs. males. One surprising finding was that children from developed English-speaking countries improved less than children from non-English-speaking countries.
Asunto(s)
Trastorno Autístico/terapia , Lista de Verificación/estadística & datos numéricos , Evaluación de la Discapacidad , Factores de Tiempo , Trastorno Autístico/psicología , Niño , Desarrollo Infantil , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Modelos Lineales , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Evaluación de Resultado en la Atención de Salud , Padres , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
Most early-intervention Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) clinical trials are limited by the availability of psychometric technicians who assess each child's abilities before and after therapeutic intervention. If parents could administer regular psychometric evaluations of their children, then the cost of clinical trials will be reduced, enabling longer clinical trials with the larger number of participants. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) was designed nearly two decades ago to provide such a tool, but the norms on the longitudinal changes in ATEC in the "treatment as usual" population were lacking. Here we report the norms of the observational cohort who voluntarily completed ATEC evaluations over the period of four years from 2013 to 2017.
