Initial characteristics of psychological development and evolution of the young autistic child.

This longitudinal study assessed multidisciplinary data on 219 children with autistic spectrum disorders from the median age of 5 (Time 1) to 8 years old (Time 2). The evolution of psychological and adaptive data was subjected to cluster analysis. Four clinically meaningful clusters emerged. The first group (21%) demonstrated the most important psychological transformations between the two times of the research. The second group (24%) made progress but less than group 1. The third and biggest group (30%) kept the same developmental slope. The fourth group (25%) showed no significant evolution between the two times of the research. This study highlights important differences among children with autism and the necessity of using a developmental view when considering the autistic syndrome.

Developmental trajectories of adaptive behaviors from early childhood to adolescence in a cohort of 152 children with autism spectrum disorders.

This study examines change in 152 children over an almost 10-year period (T1: 4.9 (± 1.3) years; T2: 8.1 (± 1.3) years; T3: 15(± 1.6) years) using a group-based, semi-parametric method in order to identify distinct developmental trajectories. Important deficits remain at adolescence in the adaptive abilities of children with Autism spectrum disorders, but changes in adaptive skills show two distinct growth rates. The univariate analysis reveals that low growth trajectories for both social and communication outcome are associated with the following characteristics at age 5: low cognitive and language skills, presence of epilepsy, and severity of autism. The multivariate analysis confirms that risk factors at age 5, were low language and severity of autism for both social and communication outcomes 10 years later, and that hours of early intervention was protective factor for communication.

Outcome of young children with autism: does the amount of intervention influence developmental trajectories?

The study aims were to identify developmental trajectories of young children with autism and investigate their prognostic factors. The participants were 208 children, assessed first at the age of 5 years, followed longitudinally, and reassessed 3 years later. The children's clinical characteristics and the interventions received were recorded. The results indicated two distinct outcome groups with more stability than change. When changes did occur, they pertained to symptom severity (which decreased) and speech level and adaptive behavior (which improved). A logistic regression analysis pointed out two main risk factors (symptom severity and speech level) and two main protection factors (communication skills and person-related cognition). Surprisingly, the amount of intervention (in terms of number of hours) was not related to outcome.

Relationship between age of recognition of first disturbances and severity in young children with autism.

Autism is now thought to be present right from birth. Although usually not officially diagnosed until after the child's second birthday, parents often report disturbances before then. The age of detection of disturbances varies and may be linked to differences in the severity of the autism and its associated retardation. This study evaluates the developmental characteristics of 193 children with pervasive developmental disorder, using the same standard procedures for all subjects. Our goal was to determine the relationship between age of parental recognition of disturbances and disorder severity. The results indicated mainly a link between early abnormalities, associated medical condition and severity measured on cognitive tests. They suggest systematic screening for signs of autism in very young children.