Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder symptomatology and related behavioural characteristics in individuals with Down syndrome
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Authors
Colleges, School and Institutes
Abstract
We evaluated the proportion of individuals with Down syndrome (DS: N = 108) who met criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on the Social Communication Questionnaire and the severity of ASD-related symptomatology in this group. The proportions of individuals with DS meeting the cut-off for ASD and autism in this sample were 19% and 8%, respectively. We then evaluated the behavioural profile of individuals with DS who scored above cut-off for ASD (DS+ASD; N = 17) compared with those with DS-only (N = 17) and individuals with idiopathic ASD (N = 17), matched for adaptive behaviour skills and ASD symptom severity (ASD group only). Individuals in the DS+ASD and ASD-only groups showed more stereotyped behaviour, repetitive language, overactivity and self-injury than the DS-only group (p <.001). Individuals in the DS+ASD and DS-only groups appeared less withdrawn from their surroundings than those with ASD (p <.004). These findings indicate differences in the behavioural and cognitive profile of individuals with DS+ASD compared with those with DS-only, when controlling for adaptive behaviour skills. Individuals with DS+ASD show broad similarities with individuals with idiopathic ASD with regard to ASD and behavioural characteristics but may also show some areas of subtle difference from this group.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 390-404 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Autism: the international journal of research and practice |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 15 May 2012 |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2013 |
Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, behavioural phenotype, challenging behaviour, Down syndrome, mood, repetitive behaviour, adaptive behavior, adolescent, adult, article, autism, automutilation, behavior disorder, child, clinical feature, cognition, disease severity, female, human, idiopathic disease, language disability, major clinical study, male, preschool child, priority journal, psychosocial withdrawal, school child, stereotypy, Adolescent, Adult, Autistic Disorder, Child, Child Development Disorders, Pervasive, Child, Preschool, Down Syndrome, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Prevalence, Social Behavior, Stereotyped Behavior, Young Adult