Characteristic symptoms and adaptive behaviors of children with autism

To determine the characteristic symptoms and adaptive behaviors of children with autism, as well as the distribution of autism severity groups across gender.

Cross-sectional observational study.

Special Education Schools of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, from September 2011 to January 2012.

Thirty nine children of either gender, aged 3 - 16 years and enrolled in special education schools, fulfilled the DSM-IV-TR criteria of autism. Among those, were identified as meeting the criteria of autism. The childhood autism rating scale-2 (CARS-2) was used to study the characteristics and severity of symptoms of autism. Later, adaptive behavior scale (school edition: 2) ABS-S: 2, was administered on children (n=21) to formulate the level of adaptive functioning.

There were 15 boys and 8 girls with mean age of 10.6 ± 2.97 years. They showed marked impairment in verbal communication (mean=3.17 ± 0.90) followed by relating to people (mean=2.75 ± 0.83) and general impression (mean=2.73 ± 0.7). Most of the children showed average to below average adaptive behaviors on number and time (n=19, 90.5%), independent functioning (n=17, 81.0%), self direction (n=17, 81.0%), physical development (n=13, 61.9%), responsibility (n=12, 57.1%) and socialization (n=13, 61.9%) as well as poor to very poor adaptive behaviors on prevocational skill (n=15, 71.4%), language development (n=13, 61.9%) and economic development (n=13, 61.9%). The frequency of boys with autism was more towards moderate to severely impaired spectrum, without gender differences in any symptom associated with autism.

Comprehension of the presentation of characteristic symptoms of children with autism will be helpful in devising the indigenous intervention plans that are congruent with the level of adaptive functioning.