Brief Report: The Association of Autistic Traits and Behavioural Patterns in Adolescents Receiving Special Educational Assistance.

Cox et al. (2015) gave parents of special-education teenagers two quick forms.

One form, the SCQ, counts autistic traits. The other, the CBCL, lists common behavior problems.

The team then looked at whether higher trait scores lined up with more reported problems.

Teens with PDD or autism scored higher than non-PDD classmates on seven of eight CBCL scales.

Parents reported more withdrawal, anxiety, social trouble, odd thoughts, attention jumps, and aggression.

Hill et al. (2006) saw the same pattern earlier in youth who had severe ID plus challenging behavior. They used the DASH-II instead of the CBCL, but the link held: more autistic traits, more problems.

Hurtig et al. (2009) extended the idea to high-functioning ASD teens. They added teacher and self-ratings and found parents often miss anxiety and depression, so one rater is not enough.

Ding et al. (2017) looked at Down syndrome and found 37% scored above the SCQ cut-off, yet did not show the same CBCL jump. The difference likely comes from syndrome-specific profiles and lower overall IQ; the papers do not truly clash, they just sample different groups.

If you work with special-ed teens, expect the whole problem profile to rise along with SCQ scores. Use the CBCL to spot withdrawal, anxiety, and aggression early. Add teacher or self-ratings when you can; parents may under-count internalizing signs. Plan interventions for both social-communication and emotional regulation together, not in silos.