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Stability of the Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised from Pre-School to Elementary School Age in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

This study examined the stability of scores on the ADI-R from pre-school to elementary school age in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Participants were 35 children who, at T1, all had a clinical diagnosis of ASD. On initial assessment (mean age 3.5 years; SD 0.6 years), all met ADI-R algorithm criteria for autism. ADI-R assessments were repeated at follow up (FU; mean age 10.5 years; SD 0.8 years). Changes in ADI-R total, domain and ADI-R algorithm item scores were assessed. Twenty-eight children continued to score above the ADI-R cut-off for autism at FU, although significant decreases in ADI-R domain and item scores were also found. In conclusion while classification of children according to ADI-R criteria generally remained stable between pre-school and elementary school age, many children demonstrated significant improvements in symptom severity.

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Notes

  1. Participants in the current study were selected from a sample of children who were recruited as part of a longitudinal study investigating the effectiveness of early intervention for pre-school children enrolled in either eclectic nurseries or home-based Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) programmes (Magiati et al. 2007). Thus there is some overlap here with the participants involved in that study.

  2. Mean scores are presented in the graphs for ease of reference, but analyses were conducted using non-parametric techniques.

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Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to the children, families, teachers and schools who participated in the study. We wish to acknowledge Dr. Samantha Day (SD) for completing many intake assessments and Dr. Judy Gould for her advice in the early stages of the project. The intake stage of the study was funded by Action Research. This study was conducted as part of Iliana Magiati’s clinical doctoral thesis.

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Author notes

  1. Patricia Howlin

    Present address: Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, Henry Wellcome Building, PO 77, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK

  2. Iliana Magiati

    Present address: Community Child Psychology Service and the Child Development Team, Islington Primary Care NHS Trust, London, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, St George’s, University of London, London, UK

    Jo Moss & Patricia Howlin

  2. Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, Henry Wellcome Building, PO 77, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK

    Jo Moss

  3. Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK

    Tony Charman

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  1. Jo Moss
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  2. Iliana Magiati
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Correspondence to Jo Moss.

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Moss, J., Magiati, I., Charman, T. et al. Stability of the Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised from Pre-School to Elementary School Age in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 1081–1091 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0487-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0487-9

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