Examination of adaptive behavior differences in adults with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disability.
Each extra diagnosis in adults with ID and ASD predicts steeper adaptive-skill deficits.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Matson et al. (2009) looked at adults who have both autism and intellectual disability.
They asked: does adding more diagnoses lower everyday living skills?
Staff scored each adult with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales.
What they found
The more diagnoses, the lower the daily-living scores.
ID only did best, ID plus ASD did worse, and adding mental-health issues did worst.
Communication, self-care, and social skills all dropped together.
How this fits with other research
Busch et al. (2010) saw the same slide when they swapped epilepsy for psychopathology.
Their adults with ID, ASD, and epilepsy also scored lowest on social skills.
Ohan et al. (2015) looked at kids and saw a twist: for some youth, higher autism symptoms paired with better adaptive scores.
Age and IQ flipped the pattern, so kids are not tiny adults.
Why it matters
When you see an adult with ID plus ASD, plan for lower baseline skills.
If mental-health or epilepsy is also on the chart, expect even more support needs.
Use the Vineland early and re-test after any new diagnosis to adjust goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) are high prevalence developmental disabilities that co-occur at high rates. Furthermore, Axis I psychopathology is known to occur more frequently in individuals with ID than the general population. The problems are lifelong and can be major impediments to independent living. Despite this, little research with adults is available to determine the effects of these disabilities on specific adaptive skills. In this study, 337 adults were evaluated using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale to assess the effects of these disabilities on looking at an ID, ID plus ASD, and ID and ASD plus Axis I psychopathology group. Adaptive skills were greatest for the ID group followed by the ID plus ASD, and ID and ASD plus psychopathology. Thus, the more handicapping conditions, the greater the skills deficits observed, particularly where psychopathology was concerned. As such, accurately identifying the causes of adaptive skill deficits will likely result in more precise and effective treatment.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2009 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.05.008