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Homogeneous Subgroups of Young Children with Autism Improve Phenotypic Characterization in the Study to Explore Early Development

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify homogenous classes of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to improve phenotypic characterization. Children were enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development between 2 and 5 years of age. 707 children were classified with ASD after a comprehensive evaluation with strict diagnostic algorithms. Four classes of children with ASD were identified from latent class analysis: mild language delay with cognitive rigidity, mild language and motor delay with dysregulation, general developmental delay, and significant developmental delay with repetitive motor behaviors. We conclude that a four-class phenotypic model of children with ASD best describes our data and improves phenotypic characterization of young children with ASD. Implications for screening, diagnosis, and research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the children and families who participated in this research. This publication was supported by six cooperative agreements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000180, Colorado Department of Public Health; Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000181, Kaiser Foundation Research Institute (CA); Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000182, University of Pennsylvania; Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000183, Johns Hopkins University; Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000184, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000498, Michigan State University. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway MS E-86, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Lisa D. Wiggins, Lin H. Tian, Laura Schieve & William Thompson

  2. Center for Autism Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Susan E. Levy, Juhi Pandey & Lisa Blaskey

  3. Emory Autism Resource Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Catherine Rice

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Li-Ching Lee

  5. Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Julie Daniels

  6. JFK Partners, University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    Susan Hepburn

  7. Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Rebecca Landa

  8. Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Rebecca Edmondson-Pretzel

Authors
  1. Lisa D. Wiggins
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  2. Lin H. Tian
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  3. Susan E. Levy
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  4. Catherine Rice
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  5. Li-Ching Lee
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  7. Juhi Pandey
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  8. Julie Daniels
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  9. Lisa Blaskey
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  10. Susan Hepburn
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  11. Rebecca Landa
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  12. Rebecca Edmondson-Pretzel
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  13. William Thompson
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Contributions

Study concept (LW), study design and methods (all authors), statistical plan (WT, LT, and LW), statistical analysis (LT), statistical review and interpretation (all authors), manuscript preparation and/or review (all authors).

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Correspondence to Lisa D. Wiggins.

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Wiggins, L.D., Tian, L.H., Levy, S.E. et al. Homogeneous Subgroups of Young Children with Autism Improve Phenotypic Characterization in the Study to Explore Early Development. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 3634–3645 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3280-4

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