Psychopathology in children and adolescents with autism compared to young people with intellectual disability.
Autistic youth show more emotional and behavior problems than peers with ID alone, so screen early and often.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Brereton et al. (2006) asked parents to fill out the Developmental Behaviour Checklist. They compared kids with autism to kids with intellectual disability only.
All children were between 4 and 18 years old. The study wanted to see who had more emotional and behavior problems.
What they found
Parents rated autistic youth as having more emotional and behavior problems than peers with ID alone.
The difference was large enough to be meaningful in daily practice.
How this fits with other research
Hill et al. (2006) ran a similar comparison the same year. They also found higher anxiety, mania, and stereotypy in youth with autistic traits using a different checklist.
Austin et al. (2015) moved the question to adults. Adults with ASD plus ID still showed more comorbid symptoms than ID-only peers, showing the gap lasts across the lifespan.
McCauley et al. (2018) flipped the lens to quality of life. Kids with ASD plus ID scored lower in friendships and social inclusion, matching the higher problem scores seen here.
Why it matters
If you work with autistic clients, plan for extra mental-health support from day one. Screen for anxiety, irritability, and repetitive behaviors even when ID is already known. Use parent checklists like the DBC-P at intake and share results with the psychiatrist or psychologist on the team. Early spotting leads to faster referrals and better behavior plans.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a specific pattern of behavioural, communication and social problems. Additional mental health problems are often poorly understood and undetected. This study investigates the level and pattern of emotional and behavioural problems in young people with autism compared with children with intellectual disability (ID). Subjects were 381 young people with autism and a representative group of 581 Australian young people with ID aged 4-18 years. Parents/carers provided details of the emotional and behavioural problems of their child using the Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC-P). Young people with autism were found to suffer from significantly higher levels of psychopathology than young people with ID. The implications of this finding are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2006 · doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0125-y