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Brief Report: The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders at Different Cognitive Levels

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Abstract

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) data were examined in a large sample of young children with ASD (n = 290) of varying cognitive levels. IQ was higher than VABS composite score among high functioning children only; the opposite pattern was found in lower IQ subgroups. Profile analysis of VABS domains across cognitive levels demonstrated different profiles in different subgroups. A characteristic “autism profile” was found for most subgroups for Age Equivalents but not Standard Scores. In a small set of matched pairs (n = 28) of children with autism versus MR, significantly different profiles were found, with Socialization and Communication lower in autism, but no differences were found between matched pairs of children with autism and PDD-NOS (n = 48). Correlations between age, cognitive level, and adaptive level were also reported, and regression analyses indicated that autism severity accounts for a modest amount of unique variance in Socialization and Daily Living Skills.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the following people who assisted in the data entry and checking for this study: Sally Bond, Ryan Chang, Kelly Geier, Carol Haddad, Bharathy Kavallappa, Megan Mak, Catherine Munns, and Alice Prichard. We appreciate the support of the TRE-ADD Program at Thistletown Regional Centre in conducting this study. The views expressed are, however, those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Thistletown Regional Centre or the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. A preliminary version of these data was presented in poster format at: the Ontario Association on Developmental Disabilities Research Day in April 2006 in Barrie, ON, the International Meeting for Autism, Research (IMFAR) in June 2006 in Montreal, QB, and the Society for Research in Child Development in Boston, MA in March 2007.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. TRE-ADD (Treatment, Research, and Education for Autism and Developmental Disorders), Thistletown Regional Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Adrienne Perry & Helen E. Flanagan

  2. Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Adrienne Perry, Helen E. Flanagan & Nancy L. Freeman

  3. Autism Intervention Program of Eastern Ontario, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Jennifer Dunn Geier

  4. Toronto Partnership for Autism Services, Surrey Place Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Nancy L. Freeman

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  1. Adrienne Perry
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  4. Nancy L. Freeman
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Correspondence to Adrienne Perry.

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Perry, A., Flanagan, H.E., Dunn Geier, J. et al. Brief Report: The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders at Different Cognitive Levels. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 1066–1078 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0704-9

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