Does Quality of Life Differ for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability Compared to Peers Without Autism?
Autism plus ID drops child quality of life below ID-only peers—fix social and physical domains, not just academics or behaviors.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents to rate quality of life for the kids. Half the kids had autism plus intellectual disability. The other half had only intellectual disability.
Parents filled out a 52-item survey. It covers friendships, play, mood, health, money, and safety. The study held age, IQ, and income constant so the groups were fair.
What they found
Kids with ASD+ID scored lower in three big areas. They had fewer real friends. They felt left out at school. They also had more aches, tiredness, and sleep trouble.
Surprise: the ASD+ID group scored a little higher on “material well-being.” Families said they had enough toys, devices, and clothes. Social gaps hurt more than money.
How this fits with other research
Libero et al. (2016) saw the same social pain in older youth. Parents of transition-age kids with autism or ID also rated “Social Support” and “Peers” lowest. The new study shows the gap starts younger.
Lee et al. (2008) found autism alone slashes quality of life versus ADHD or typical peers. Our target narrows the lens: even inside the ID world, autism adds extra social and physical burden.
Losada-Puente et al. (2022) looked at families, not kids. They found the biggest gaps between “what matters” and “what we get” in ASD families. Together the papers say: treat the whole family, start early, aim at social ties.
Why it matters
Your client’s behavior plan is only half the story. If friendships and playground games are missing, the child still feels lousy. Add peer-mediated instruction, sensory-friendly sports, or lunch-bunch clubs. Track social and physical well-being goals right next to tantrum reduction. You can lift quality of life while you lower problem behavior.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The main goal was to test if children with intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show lower quality of life (QOL) in comparison to those with only ID. The KidsLife Scale was applied to 1060 children with ID, 25% of whom also had ASD, aged 4-21 years old. Those with ASD showed lower scores in several QOL domains but, when the effect of other variables was controlled, lower scores were only kept for interpersonal relationships, social inclusion, and physical wellbeing. Slightly higher scores were found for material wellbeing. ASD, Level of ID and support needs were the covariables with the greatest influence in most domains, while gender was only significant for social inclusion (girls scored lower than boys).
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2018 · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3289-8