Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools
Published on: June 20, 2020
School-aged functioning of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder before age three: parent-reported
Patricia O Towle1, Karyn Vacanti-Shova, Shristi Shah
1Westchester Institute for Human Development, Cedarwood Hall, Valhalla, NY, 10538, USA, ptowle@wihd.org.
Abstract:
Eighty children with early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses (under 36 months) were identified using a chart abstraction protocol applied to early intervention charts. Parents filled out questionnaires by mail when the children were school-aged (ages 6-16 years). Similar to previous studies, approximately 20% no longer had ASD diagnoses; the other participants were assigned to Moderate/Severe versus Mild ASD outcome groups. These three groups were compared across several variables, including diagnostic features and functional features including adaptive behavior, social experiences, medication use, and school placement. The findings expand our knowledge about outcomes in longitudinal studies of children with ASD, as well as provide support for using relatively indirect methods (chart review, parent questionnaire) to gather this type of information.
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