Adaptive function in preschoolers in relation to developmental delay and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders: insights from a clinical sample.
Autism itself pulls social and practical adaptive scores down even when overall development looks okay.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Matson et al. (2013) looked at preschool kids in a clinic. Some had autism. Some had general delay.
The team gave each child a Vineland and a developmental test. They wanted to see if autism, delay, or both shaped daily-living, social, and motor scores.
What they found
Overall ability predicted most of the Vineland score. Yet the autism label still dragged down social and practical skills.
Kids with autism scored lower in those two areas even when their overall development looked average.
How this fits with other research
Ferrari et al. (1991) saw the same social dip long ago. Matson et al. (2013) now shows the gap starts before five.
Mouga et al. (2015) pushed the idea further. They matched kids on IQ and still found the autism group behind in socialization.
Leezenbaum et al. (2019) tracked the same children across years. Daily-living scores rose, but kids with milder autism symptoms rose faster.
Ohan et al. (2015) added ADHD to the mix. Autism plus ADHD hurt social scores more than ADHD alone. The pattern lines up: autism keeps social-adaptive skills low no matter what else is on board.
Why it matters
Check both the full Vineland and the social and practical sub-scales. A child may look “on level” overall yet still need help making friends or using utensils. Flag these gaps early and write goals that target social and daily-living skills even when cognitive scores seem fine.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study aims to explore the relationship between developmental ability, autism and adaptive skills in preschoolers. Adaptive function was assessed in 152 preschoolers with autism, with and without developmental delay, and without autism, with and without developmental delay. Their overall adaptive function, measured by the general adaptive composite on the Adaptive Behaviour Assessment System, was closely correlated to developmental ability as measured by the general quotient on the Griffith Mental Development Scales. Children with autism performed significantly less well on both scales. Domain scores discriminated between children with and without autism, with poorer performance on both the social and practical domain scores for children with autism, even when controlling for the effects of development. Children with average development, both with and without autism, had lower adaptive skills than expected for their developmental level. The importance of considering domain scores as well as the general adaptive composite when determining support needs is emphasised.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2013 · doi:10.1177/1362361312453091