Abstract
The study presents neuropsychiatric profiles of children aged 11 with autism spectrum disorder, assessed before 4.5 years, and after interventions. The original group comprised a community sample of 208 children with ASD. Parents of 128 participated—34 with average intellectual function, 36 with borderline intellectual function and 58 with intellectual disability. They were interviewed using the Autism-Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities interview. Criteria for a clinical/subclinical proxy of ASD were met by 71, 89 and 95 %, respectively. Criteria for at least one of ASD, AD/HD, Learning disorder or Developmental Coordination Disorder were met by 82, 94 and 97 %. More than 90 % of children with a preschool diagnosis of ASD have remaining neuropsychiatric problems at 11, despite early intervention.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV) (4th ed.). Washington, DC: APA.
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) (5th ed.). Washington, DC: APA.
Anckarsäter, H., Lundström, S., Kollberg, L., Kerekes, N., Palm, C., Carlström, E., et al. (2011). The child and adolescent twin study in Sweden (CATSS). Twin Research and Human Genetics, 14(06), 495–508.
Barnevik Olsson, M., Westerlund, J., Lundström, S., Giacobini, M., Fernell, E., & Gillberg, C. (2015). “Recovery” from the diagnosis of autism- and then? Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 11, 999–1005.
Coleman, M., & Gillberg, C. (2012). The autisms (4th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Elmose, M., Trillingsgaard, A., Jørgensen, M., Nielsen, A., Bruhn, S. S., & Sørensen, E. U. (2014). Follow-up at mid-school age (9–13 years) of children assessed for autism spectrum disorder before the age of four. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 68(5), 362–368.
Fernell, E., Hedvall, Å., Norrelgen, F., Eriksson, M., Höglund Carlsson, L., Barnevik Olsson, M., et al. (2010). Developmental profiles in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders referred for intervention. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31(3), 790–799.
Fernell, E., Hedvall, Å., Westerlund, J., Höglund Carlsson, L., Eriksson, M., Barnevik Olsson, M., et al. (2011). Early intervention in 208 Swedish preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. A prospective naturalistic study. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32(6), 2092–2101.
Gillberg, C. (2010). The ESSENCE in child psychiatry: Early symptomatic syndromes eliciting neurodevelopmental clinical examinations. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31(6), 1543–1551.
Gillberg, C., & Fernell, E. (2014). Autism plus versus autism pure. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(12), 3274–3276.
Halleröd, S. L., Larson, T., Ståhlberg, O., Carlström, E., Gillberg, C., Anckarsäter, H., et al. (2010). The Autism-Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities (A-TAC) telephone interview: Convergence with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 64(3), 218–224.
Hansson Halleröd, S. L. (2016). On the validity on neurodevelopmental disorders, Thesis, Lund University.
Hansson, S. L., Svanström Röjvall, A., Råstam, M., Gillberg, C., & Anckarsäter, H. (2005). Psychiatric telephone interview with parents for screening of childhood autism-tics, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other comorbidities (A-TAC): Preliminary reliability and validity. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 262–267.
Hedvall, Å., Westerlund, J., Fernell, E., Norrelgen, F., Kjellmer, L., Barnevik Olsson, M., et al. (2015). Preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder followed for 2 years: Those who gained and those who lost the most in terms of adaptive functioning outcome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(11), 3624–3633.
Howlin, P. (1998). Practitioner review: Psychological and educational treatments for autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39(3), 307–322.
Kerekes, N., Lundström, S., Chang, Z., Tajnia, A., Jern, P., Lichtenstein, P., et al. (2014). Oppositional defiant- and conduct disorder-like problems: Neurodevelopmental predictors and genetic background in boys and girls, in a nationwide twin study. PeerJ, 2, e359.
Larson, T., Anckarsäter, H., Gillberg, C., Ståhlberg, O., Carlström, E., Kadesjö, B., et al. (2010). The autism-tics, AD/HD and other comorbidities inventory (A-TAC): Further validation of a telephone interview for epidemiological research. BMC Psychiatry, 10, 1.
Larson, T., Kerekes, N., Selinus, E. N., Lichtenstein, P., Gumpert, C. H., Anckarsäter, H., et al. (2014). Reliability of autism-tics, AD/HD, and other comorbidities (A-TAC) inventory in a test-retest design. Psychological Reports, 114(1), 93–103.
Larson, T., Lundström, S., Nilsson, T., Selinus, E. N., Råstam, M., Lichtenstein, P., et al. (2013). Predictive properties of the A-TAC inventory when screening for childhood-onset neurodevelopmental problems in a population-based sample. BMC Psychiatry, 13, 233.
Nordin, V., & Gillberg, C. (1998). The long-term course of autistic disorders: Update on follow-up studies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 97(2), 99–108.
Nygren, G., Sandberg, E., Gillstedt, F., Ekeroth, G., Arvidsson, T., & Gillberg, C. (2012). A new screening programme for autism in a general population of Swedish toddlers. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33(4), 1200–1210.
Reichow, B., Barton, E. E., Boyd, B. A., & Hume, K. (2012). Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cochrane Database Systematic Review, 10, CD009260.
Stevens, M. C., Fein, D. A., Dunn, M., Allen, D., Waterhouse, L. H., Feinstein, C., & Rapin, I. (2000). Subgroups of children with autism by cluster analysis: A longitudinal examination. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(3), 346–352.
Stormark, K. M., Heiervang, E., Heimann, M., Lundervold, A., & Gillberg, C. (2008). Predicting nonresponse bias from teacher ratings of mental health problems in primary school children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(3), 411–419.
Towle, P. O., Vacanti-Shova, K., Shah, S., & Higgins-D’alessandro, A. (2014). School-aged functioning of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder before age three: Parent-reported diagnostic, adaptive, medication, and school placement outcomes. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(6), 1357–1372.
Wing, L., Leekam, S. R., Libby, S. J., Gould, J., & Larcombe, M. (2002). The diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders: Background, inter-rater reliability and clinical use. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43, 307–325.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to all parents who took part in the interview. Financial support was given through a grant support from Prima Child and Adult Psychiatry (MBO), from Kempe Carlgren´s Foundation (EF), from the Wilhelm and Martina Lundgren Research Foundation (MBO), from the LifeWatch Award, Niclas Öberg Foundation (EF), and from Per and Annmari Ahlqvist Foundation (CG).
Author Contributions
All authors contributed to the final manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barnevik Olsson, M., Lundström, S., Westerlund, J. et al. Preschool to School in Autism: Neuropsychiatric Problems 8 Years After Diagnosis at 3 Years of Age. J Autism Dev Disord 46, 2749–2755 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2819-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2819-0