Abstract
A cross-sectional analysis was used to examine age-related differences in ASD symptoms and corresponding differences in disruptive behavior and social skills in 281 adult men with fragile X syndrome. Four age groups were created: 18–21, 22–29, 30–39, and 40–49 years. The 18–21 year-old group was reported to have more impairments in verbal communication than the 22–29 year-old group and more restricted and repetitive behaviors than the 40–49 year-old group. There was not an age-group difference in the percentage of men who met criteria for an ASD diagnosis based on respondent-reported, current symptoms. There was a trend for an age-related difference in disruptive behavior. Findings add to understanding of the developmental trajectory of ASD symptoms in adulthood.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDD) under Cooperative Agreement U01DD000231 to the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), project RTOI 2010-99-01. This study was also funded in part by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD; P30 HD03352 to M. Mailick). The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of CDC, AUCD, or NICHD. We thank our team of collaborators and the families who participated in this survey.
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Hartley, S.L., Wheeler, A.C., Mailick, M.R. et al. Autism Symptoms Across Adulthood in Men with Fragile X Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Analysis. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3668–3679 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2513-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2513-7