Comparison of parental estimate of developmental age with measured IQ in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

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S Chandler1,2, P Howlin2,3, E Simonoff2,4

  • 1Paediatric Neurosciences, Newcomen Centre, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

Child: Care, Health and Development
|April 30, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Parental estimates can approximate IQ scores for children with ADHD and intellectual disability (ID), but are less accurate for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This research explores parental accuracy in assessing child IQ when formal testing is unavailable.

Area of Science:

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Child Psychology
  • Pediatric Psychiatry

Background:

  • Formal IQ testing is crucial for diagnosing neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
  • Limited resources for formal IQ assessments necessitate alternative evaluation methods.
  • Parental estimates of developmental age are explored as a potential proxy for IQ when formal measures are inaccessible.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the accuracy of parental estimates of child developmental age as a proxy for IQ.
  • To compare parental estimation accuracy in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) versus those with ADHD and intellectual disability (ADHD+ID).

Main Methods:

  • Parental developmental age estimates were converted to developmental quotients (DQ) for 197 children with ASD (4-9 years) and 108 children with ADHD+ID (7-15 years).
  • Formal IQ assessments were conducted for all participants.
  • Parents completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and a demographic questionnaire.

Main Results:

  • In the ADHD+ID group, 74% of parental estimates were within 15 points of measured IQ, with higher child IQ predicting greater accuracy.
  • In the ASD group, 58% of parental estimates were within 15 points of measured IQ; lower IQ and SCQ scores predicted higher parental accuracy.
  • Parents of children with ADHD+ID were more likely to overestimate their child's ability than parents of children with ASD.

Conclusions:

  • Parental estimates can offer a reasonably accurate proxy for IQ in children with ADHD+ID.
  • Parental accuracy in estimating IQ for children with ASD was lower, potentially due to a focus on adaptive functioning.
  • Findings suggest parental estimates can be a useful, though not definitive, tool in specific clinical contexts.
Abstract

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