Autism Spectrum Disorders: Developmental Trajectories, Neurobiological Basis, Treatment Update,Volume 2

AbstractThis study examined how restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests (RRBs) developed over time in a sample of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). One hundred ninety-two children referred for a diagnosis of autism at age 2, and 22 children with nonspectrum development disorders were evaluated with a battery of cognitive and diagnostic measures at age 2 and subsequently at ages 3, 5, and 9. Factor analysis of the RRB items on the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised revealed two RRB factors at each wave of data collection, one comprising “repetitive sensorimotor” (RSM) behaviors and the other “insistence on sameness” (IS) behaviors. For children with ASD, RSM scores remained relatively high over time, indicating consistent severity, whereas IS scores started low and increased over time, indicating worsening. Having a higher nonverbal intelligence (NVIQ) at age 2 was associated with milder concurrent RSM behaviors and with improvement in these behaviors over time. There was no relationship between NVIQ at age 2 and IS behaviors. However, milder social/communicative impairment, at age 2 was associated with more severe concurrent IS behaviors. Trajectory analysis revealed considerable heterogeneity in patterns of change over time for both kinds of behaviors. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for our understanding of RRBs in ASD and other disorders, making prognoses about how RRBs will develop in children with ASD as they get older, and using RRBs to identify ASD phenotypes in genetic studies.

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Developmental Trajectories in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders: The First 3 Years

Child Development ◽

10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01870.x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 84 (2) ◽

pp. 429-442 ◽

Cited By ~ 142

Author(s):

Rebecca J. Landa ◽

Alden L. Gross ◽

Elizabeth A. Stuart ◽

Ashley Faherty

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorders

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Clinical features, developmental course, and psychiatric comorbidity of adult autism spectrum disorders

CNS Spectrums ◽

10.1017/s1092852913000941 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 157-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Giulia Vannucchi ◽

Gabriele Masi ◽

Cristina Toni ◽

Liliana Dell'Osso ◽

Donatella Marazziti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Clinical Picture ◽

Psychiatric Comorbidity ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Course Development ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Adult Autism ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

The Relationship

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) include a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders with early onset in childhood. ASDs should be considered lifelong clinical entities, although there is a certain variability in developmental trajectories, and therefore should be considered of great interest also for adulthood psychiatrists. A few studies have been carried out to explore the clinical picture and course development of these disorders during adulthood, or their relationship with other mental disorders. Indeed, ASDs often share overlapping features with other disorders, such as schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive, mood, and personality disorders, and as a result misdiagnoses often occur. The aim of this review is to summarize the available literature on ASDs in adulthood with a specific focus on the clinical picture, course, and psychiatric comorbidity. It is proposed that a careful diagnostic screening for ASDs in adults would contribute to clarifying the relationship with comorbid psychiatric disorders, while improving the possibility of treatment and outcome of such conditions.

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Trajectories of imitation skills in preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

10.1101/2021.03.24.21254258 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Irene Pittet ◽

Nada Kojovic ◽

Martina Franchini ◽

Marie Schaer

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

The Impact

Imitation skills play a crucial role in social cognitive development from early childhood. Many studies have shown a deficit in imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Little is known about the development of imitation behaviors in children with ASD. This study aims to measure the trajectories of early imitation skills in preschoolers with ASD and how these skills impact other areas of early development. For this purpose, we assessed imitation, language and cognition skills in 177 children with ASD and 43 typically developing children (TD) aged 2 to 5 years old, 126 of which were followed longitudinally, yielding a total of 396 time-points. Our results confirmed the presence of an early imitation deficit in toddlers with ASD compared to TD children. The study of the trajectories showed that these difficulties were marked at the age of two years, and gradually decreased until the age of 5 years old. Imitation skills were strongly linked with cognitive, language skills and level of symptoms in our ASD group at baseline. Moreover, the imitation skills at baseline were predictive of the language gains a year later in our ASD group. Using a data-driven clustering method, we delineated different developmental trajectories of imitation skills within the ASD group. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed, particularly the impact of an early imitation deficit on other areas of competence of the young child.

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Editorial: Autism Spectrum Disorders: Developmental Trajectories, Neurobiological Basis, Treatment Update, Volume 2

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00589 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Roberto Canitano ◽

Yuri Bozzi ◽

Dirk Dhossche

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorders

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Trajectories of imitation skills in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

10.1186/s11689-021-09412-y ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Irène Pittet ◽

Nada Kojovic ◽

Martina Franchini ◽

Marie Schaer

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Imitation skills play a crucial role in social cognitive development from early childhood. Many studies have shown a deficit in imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Little is known about the development of imitation behaviors in children with ASD. This study aims to measure the trajectories of early imitation skills in preschoolers with ASD and how these skills impact other areas of early development. Methods For this purpose, we assessed imitation, language, and cognition skills in 177 children with ASD and 43 typically developing children (TD) aged 2 to 5 years old, 126 of which were followed longitudinally, yielding a total of 396 time points. Results Our results confirmed the presence of an early imitation deficit in toddlers with ASD compared to TD children. The study of the trajectories showed that these difficulties were marked at the age of 2 years and gradually decreased until the age of 5 years old. Imitation skills were strongly linked with cognitive and language skills and level of symptoms in our ASD group at baseline. Moreover, the imitation skills at baseline were predictive of the language gains a year later in our ASD group. Using a data-driven clustering method, we delineated different developmental trajectories of imitation skills within the ASD group. Conclusions The clinical implications of the findings are discussed, particularly the impact of an early imitation deficit on other areas of competence of the young child.

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