Effects of age on adaptive behavior levels and academic skill levels in autistic and mentally retarded children.
Daily living and number skills improve with age in autistic kids, but they still lag behind peers with intellectual disability and starting tasks stays flat.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Huguenin et al. (1980) compared kids with autism and kids with intellectual disability.
They looked at toileting, eating, joining groups, self-control, numbers, and taking the lead.
All children were school age; the team asked if these skills got better as kids got older.
What they found
Autistic kids did get better at toileting, eating, group play, self-control, and number work.
Still, they stayed behind peers with intellectual disability in every area.
The one skill that never improved with age was taking the lead or starting tasks.
How this fits with other research
Houwen et al. (2014) saw the opposite: older autistic kids scored lower on IQ and attention.
The gap is about what was measured. H et al. tracked daily living skills; Suzanne et al. used IQ tests.
Peristeri et al. (2024) followed the same kids for four years and found IQ paths split: some rose, some fell.
Their work updates the 1980 snapshot by showing change is not one-directional and family income matters.
Fecteau et al. (2003) widen the lens past childhood and show social symptoms keep improving even into adulthood.
Why it matters
You can expect real gains in daily routines and early math as autistic students age, so keep teaching them.
Do not wait for initiative to appear on its own; write goals for starting tasks and self-direction.
If an older child scores lower on IQ tests, remember daily skills may still climb—check both before writing long-term plans.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study investigated the effect of age on adaptive behavior and academic skill in autistic and mentally retarded children. Subjects were 47 autistic and 128 mentally retarded children from a special school. Cross-sectional comparisons were made between junior and senior groups using ratings obtained from teachers on adaptive behaviors and academic skills. We found that the levels of toilet training, eating skills, participation in group activities, and self-control in the autistic children improved significantly with age. The skills of number concepts in the autistic children also improved with age. However, these adaptive and academic levels were in general significantly lower than those of the mentally retarded children. The levels of initiative did not improve significantly in either the autistic or the mentally retarded children, and they were significantly lower in the autistic children. The implications of these findings in the context of our previous study on the changes of communication and maladaptive behaviors with age in the autistic children are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1980 · doi:10.1007/BF02408468