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Developmental changes of autistic symptoms.

Shirley Fecteau1, Laurent Mottron, Claude Berthiaume

  • 1Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montreál, Canada.

Autism : the International Journal of Research and Practice
|October 1, 2003
PubMed
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This study found significant improvements in autistic symptoms in verbal children and adolescents over time. These developmental changes occurred across social, communication, and behavioral domains, irrespective of age or IQ.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research

Background:

  • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors.
  • Understanding the developmental trajectory of autistic symptoms is crucial for intervention and support.
  • Previous research has explored symptom changes, but longitudinal data on specific symptom domains in verbal individuals with autism is still developing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate developmental changes in autistic symptoms among verbal children and adolescents with autism.
  • To compare the prevalence of autistic symptoms at a later assessment with those reported during early childhood (4-5 years).
  • To analyze improvements across the core diagnostic domains of autism: social interaction, communication, and restricted interests/repetitive behaviors.

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Main Methods:

  • Retrospective assessment of autistic symptoms in 28 verbal children and adolescents diagnosed with autism.
  • Utilized the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) to gather information on symptom presentation at two time points: current assessment and early childhood (4-5 years).
  • Excluded individuals with Asperger syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and related medical conditions to focus on a specific subgroup.

Main Results:

  • Significant improvements were observed in all three core domains of autism (social, communication, restricted interests/repetitive behaviors).
  • Symptom improvement was independent of the individual's age at assessment or their IQ level.
  • More improvements were noted in social symptoms compared to communication symptoms, and more in communication compared to restricted interests/repetitive behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • The observed improvements in autistic symptoms appear to be part of the natural history of the condition in verbal individuals with autism.
  • These developmental changes occur even in individuals who still meet diagnostic criteria for autism.
  • The findings suggest that symptom modification is a common feature of autism's developmental course, irrespective of functioning level.