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Examining Trajectories of Daily Living Skills over the Preschool Years for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience slower development of daily living skills (DLS) that are essential for independent functioning compared to typically developing children. Few studies have examined the trajectories of DLS in preschoolers with ASD and the existing literature has reported conflicting results. This study examined DLS trajectories and potential covariates for preschoolers with ASD from a multi-site longitudinal study following children from diagnosis to the end of grade 1. Multi-level modeling was conducted with DLS domain scores from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-2. The results demonstrated a positive trajectory of increasing scores over time, associations of age of diagnosis, developmental level, stereotypy, and language skills with the mean score at T4 or age 6 years, whereas rate of change was only associated with ASD symptom severity, such that an improvement in DLS trajectory was associated with lower and improving ASD symptom severity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the children and families who participated in the Pathways in ASD Study. We also acknowledge the members of the Pathways in ASD Study Team. Funding support was provided to Dr. Di Rezze through a post-doctoral fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Funding to support this research was also provided by a Hamilton Health Sciences Research Early Career Award 2018. This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Grant No. 70333), Kids Brain Health Network (formerly NeuroDevNet,) Autism Speaks Canada, the Government of British Columbia, Alberta Innovates—Health Solutions, the Mayberry Family, and the Sinneave Family Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, McMaster University, Room 436, 1400 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 1C7, Canada

    B. Di Rezze

  2. Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    E. Duku, S. Georgiades, T. A. Bennett & A. Thompson

  3. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    P. Szatmari

  4. Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

    J. Volden

  5. Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

    L. Zwaigenbaum

  6. IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    I. M. Smith

  7. Faculty of Education, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    T. Vaillancourt

  8. Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    M. Elsabbagh

  9. Program of Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    W. J. Ungar

  10. Children’s Health Policy Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    C. Waddell

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  1. B. Di Rezze
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  2. E. Duku
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  3. P. Szatmari
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  5. S. Georgiades
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  6. L. Zwaigenbaum
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  7. I. M. Smith
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  9. T. A. Bennett
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Pathways in ASD Study Team

Contributions

BDR designed the study, conducted the statistical analyses, crafted the initial draft of the manuscript and took the lead on all revisions to address reviewer comments. ED was the statistical expert that supported the design of the statistical analyses and analyses of results, as well as providing input on the revisions to drafts and responses to reviewers. PS provided guidance on the design of the study, and analyses of the results, as well as in supporting manuscipt development and revisions based on reviewers' comments. JV assisted with manuscript development and participated in revising the manuscript based on reviewers' comments. SG provided guidance on design of the statistical analysis, assisted with manuscript revisions and participated in revising the manuscript based on reviewers' comments. LZ provided guidance on interpretation of statistical analysis, assisted with manuscript revisions and participated in revising the manuscript based on reviewers' comments. IMS provided guidance on interpretation of statistical analysis, assisted with manuscript revisions and participated in revising the manuscript based on reviewers' comments. TV pariticpated in revising the manuscript and in addressing comments made by reviewers. TAB pariticpated in revising the manuscript and in addressing comments made by reviewers. ME pariticpated in revising the manuscript and in addressing comments made by reviewers. AT participated in data input, data restructuring and data analysis procedures within this study. WJU pariticpated in revising the manuscript and in addressing comments made by reviewers. CW pariticpated in revising the manuscript and in addressing comments made by reviewers.

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Correspondence to B. Di Rezze.

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Di Rezze, B., Duku, E., Szatmari, P. et al. Examining Trajectories of Daily Living Skills over the Preschool Years for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 4390–4399 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04150-6

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