Toddlers to teenagers: Long-term follow-up study of outcomes in autism spectrum disorder.
Toddlers who enter with stronger thinking and daily-living skills are the ones who keep gaining through adolescence.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ben-Itzchak et al. (2020) followed the same kids from toddlerhood to their teen years.
They looked at early IQ, social smiles, and daily-living scores.
Then they checked who still made gains twelve years later.
What they found
Only the toddlers who started with higher thinking skills kept growing.
Those early stars gained better conversation and self-care skills as teens.
Kids who began with low scores stayed on a flat, slower track.
How this fits with other research
Baghdadli et al. (2018) saw the same split: three-quarters of kids stayed on a low path.
Ben-Itzchak et al. (2007) showed higher IQ and milder social signs forecast one-year ABA gains; the 2020 paper proves the edge lasts a decade.
Perry et al. (2019) add hope: teens who got toddler EIBI held onto gains, hinting that early help may widen the high-growth group.
Why it matters
Screen cognition and adaptive communication as early as possible.
Kids who score low need stronger, longer support plans.
Use the high-growth profile to set realistic long-term goals and justify intense early hours to funders.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Pull your youngest clients’ baseline IQ and Vineland scores; flag anyone in the bottom quarter for a boost in service intensity this week.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This prospective study examined the developmental changes over time of adolescents diagnosed in toddlerhood with autism spectrum disorder and searched for child characteristics at toddlerhood that predict outcome at adolescence. The study included 65 participants who were divided into low cognitive (developmental quotient < 85; N = 41) and high cognitive (developmental quotient ⩾ 85; N = 21) groups in adolescence. Participants underwent a comprehensive assessment of cognitive ability, adaptive skills, and autism severity. Significant differences in the current clinical phenotypes and in developmental changes over time were found between the two cognitive groups. At baseline, the high cognitive group had significantly less severe social communication deficits. Only the high cognitive group showed a decrease in social communication deficits over time. Although the two groups did not differ in their adaptive skills at the time of diagnosis, the high cognitive group had better adaptive skills at adolescence. Better adaptive communication skills in toddlerhood were associated with better outcome at adolescence in cognitive ability, adaptive skills, and fewer autism symptoms. Less impaired baseline social affect and better cognitive ability predicted higher cognitive level and adaptive skills at adolescence. Cognitive potential of individuals with autism spectrum disorder plays an important role in long-term outcome and comprehensive evaluations at toddlerhood have strong prognostic value in adolescence.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2020 · doi:10.1177/1362361319840226