Pervasive developmental disorder behavior in adolescents with intellectual disability and co-occurring somatic chronic diseases.
Among teens with ID, those with chronic somatic illnesses show more subtle autism-like behaviors—screen with CSBQ when medical complexity is present.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked parents to fill out the CSBQ. This checklist spots mild autism-like behaviors in kids with intellectual disability.
They compared teens who also had long-term illnesses like diabetes or epilepsy with healthier peers. All kids attended Dutch special-education schools.
What they found
Teens with ID plus chronic disease scored higher on the CSBQ. They showed more subtle PDD behaviors such as social passivity or odd habits.
The difference was small but consistent. Medical complexity and behavior overlap even when full autism is not diagnosed.
How this fits with other research
Bailey et al. (2010) used the exact same Dutch sample. That paper counted emotional problems instead of PDD traits. Both studies agree: sick teens with ID show more psychiatric red flags.
Reid et al. (2005) tracked severe behaviors for 12 years. Early language and social gaps predicted long-term trouble. The new data say medical illness adds another early warning sign.
Ekas et al. (2011) flipped the lens forward. Young adults with autism already had double the risk of high cholesterol. Together the papers sketch a loop: medical illness raises behavior flags in adolescence, then autism itself raises medical risk in adulthood.
Why it matters
When you see a teen with ID and chronic illness, do not assume behavior issues are just frustration. Run the CSBQ or similar screener. Early results let you add social-skills goals, sensory breaks, or medical coordination before problems harden into adulthood.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Evidence on the association between somatic chronic diseases in ID-adolescents and the full range of pervasive developmental disorder behavior (PDD behavior) is scarce. The aim of the present study is to assess the association between somatic chronic diseases in ID-adolescents and mild PDD behavior. We obtained data on 1044 ID-adolescents, aged 12-18, attending secondary schools in the Netherlands. Parents of the adolescents completed the Dutch version of the Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire (CSBQ) parent version, covering a wide range of PDD behavior, and questions about chronic diseases and background characteristics of their child. ID-adolescents with somatic chronic diseases showed more PDD behavior, in particular milder forms, than their peers without chronic diseases. In addition, ID-adolescents with somatic chronic diseases in combination with pervasive development disorders (PDD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also showed more PDD behavior than their peers with only PDD/ADHD. Clinicians should be extra alert on PDD behavior, in particular the milder forms, in ID-adolescents when somatic chronic diseases are present. However, to strengthen our results about the relationship between somatic chronic diseases in ID-adolescents and PDD behavior studies are needed using both the CSBQ and standardized diagnostic instruments.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.10.018