Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparing Autism, PDD-NOS, and Other Developmental Disabilities on Parent-Reported Behavior Problems: Little Evidence for ASD Subtype Validity

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Studies on the distinction between Autistic Disorder (AD) and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) have been inconclusive. This study examined the validity of PDD-NOS by comparing it to AD and other developmental disorders (DD) on parent-reported behavior problems. Fifty-four children with PDD-NOS were individually matched on age and non-verbal IQ to 54 children with AD and 54 children with DD. Groups were compared on select subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist. High rates of psychopathology were observed in both ASD groups. The only difference between PDD-NOS and AD groups was higher scores in the PDD-NOS group on two items measuring Anxiety/Depression. Cognitive functioning may be a more salient variable than subtype when studying psychopathology in individuals with ASDs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahams, B. S., & Geschwind, D. H. (2008). Advances in autism genetics: On the threshold of a new neurobiology. Nature Reviews Genetics, 9, 341–355.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach, T., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders—text revised (4th ed.). Washington, DC: APA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amiet, C., Gourfinkel-An, I., Bouzamondo, A., Tordjman, S., Baulac, M., Lechat, P., et al. (2008). Epilepsy in autism is associated with intellectual disability and gender: Evidence from a meta-analysis. Biological Psychiatry, 64, 577–582.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beglinger, L. J., & Smith, T. H. (2001). A review of subtyping in autism and proposed dimensional classification model. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 411–422.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, D. V., & Norbury, C. F. (2002). Exploring the borderlands of autistic disorder and specific language impairment: A study using standardized diagnostic instruments. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43, 917–929.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buitelaar, J. K., Van der Gaag, R., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. (1999). Exploring the boundaries of pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified: Analyses of data from the DSM-IV autistic disorder field trial. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 33–43.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cantwell, D. P. (1996). Classification of child and adolescent pyschopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 3–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Einfeld, S. L., & Tonge, B. J. (1996). Population prevalence of psychopathology in children and adolescents with intellectual disability: Epidemiological findings. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 40, 99–109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne, E. (2005). Epidemiological studies of pervasive developmental disorders. In F. R. Volkmar, R. Paul, A. Klin, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (pp. 42–69). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, U. (2001). What framework should we use for understanding developmental disorders? Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 555–563.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gadow, K. D., DeVincent, C. J., Pomeroy, J., & Azizian, A. (2004). Psychiatric symptoms in preschool children with PDD in clinic and comparison samples. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 379–393.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gadow, K. D., DeVincent, C. J., Pomeroy, J., & Azizian, A. (2005). Comparison of DSM-IV symptoms in elementary school-age children with PDD versus clinic and community samples. Autism, 9, 392–415.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. A., Szatmari, P., Bryson, S. E., Streiner, D. L., & Wilson, F. J. (2000). The prevalence of anxiety and mood problems among children with autism and Asperger syndrome. Autism, 4, 117–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer, H. C., Shrout, P. E., & Rubio-Stipec, M. (2007). Developing the diagnostic and statistical manual V: What will “statistical” mean? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 259–267.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lecavalier, L. (2006). Behavioral and emotional problems in young people with pervasive developmental disorders: Relative prevalence, effects of subject characteristics, and empirical classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 1101–1114.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leyfer, O. T., Folstein, S. E., Bacalman, S., Davis, N. O., Dinh, E., Morgan, J., et al. (2006). Comorbid psychiatric disorders in children with autism: Interview development and rates of disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 849–861.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Leventhal, B. L., & Cook, E. (2001). Quantifying the phenotype in autism spectrum disorders. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 105, 36–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P., & Risi, S. (1999). Autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, W. J., Szatmari, P., MacLean, J., Bryson, S. E., Bartolucci, G., Walter, S. D., et al. (1998). Reliability and accuracy of differentiating pervasive developmental disorder subtypes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 278–285.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Munson, J., Dawson, G., Sterling, L., Beauchaine, T., Zhou, A., Koehler, E., et al. (2008). Evidence for latent classes of IQ in young children with autism spectrum disorder. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 113, 439–452.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pandolfi, V., Magyar, C. I., & Dill, C. A. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis of the child behavior checklist 1.5–5 in a sample of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 986–995.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, D. A., Loveland, K. A., Lachar, D., Lane, D. M., Reddoch, S. L., Mansour, R., et al. (2006). A comparison of behavioral and emotional functioning in children and adolescents with autistic disorder and PDD-NOS. Child Neuropsychology, 12, 321–333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robins, E., & Guze, S. B. (1970). Establishment of diagnostic validity in psychiatric illness: Its application to schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 983–987.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shattuck, P. T., Seltzer, M. M., Greenberg, J. S., Orsmond, G. I., Bolt, D., Kring, S., et al. (2007). Change in autism symptoms and maladaptive behaviors in adolescents and adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1735–1747.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simonoff, E., Pickles, A., Charman, T., Chandler, S., Loucas, T., & Baird, G. (2008). Psychiatric disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders: Prevalence, comorbidity, and associated factors in a population derived sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 921–929.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Skuse, D. H. (2007). Rethinking the nature of genetic vulnerability to autistic spectrum disorders. Trends in Genetics, 8, 387–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sponheim, E., & Skjeldal, O. (1998). Autism and related disorders: Epidemiological findings in a Norwegian study using ICD-10 diagnostic criteria. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28, 217–227.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sukhodolsky, D. G., Scahill, L., Gadow, K. G., Arnold, L. E., Aman, M. G., McDougle, C. J., et al. (2007). Parent-rated anxiety symptoms in children with pervasive developmental disorders: Frequency and association with core autism symptoms and cognitive functioning. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 117–128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Szatmari, P. (2000). The classification of autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 731–738.

    Google Scholar 

  • Towbin, K. (2005). Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. In F. R. Volkmar, R. Paul, A. Klin, & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verte, S., Geurts, H. M., Roeyers, H., Oosterlaan, J., & Sergeant, J. A. (2006). Executive functioning in children with an autism spectrum disorder: Can we differentiate within the spectrum? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 351–372.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volkmar, F. R., Klin, A., Siegel, B., Szatmari, P., Lord, C., Campbell, M., et al. (1994). Field trial for autistic disorder in DSM-IV. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1361–1367.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wesibrot, D. M., Gadow, K. D., DeVincent, C. J., & Pomeroy, J. (2005). The presentation of anxiety in children with pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 15, 477–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witwer, A. N., & Lecavalier, L. (2008). Validity of autism spectrum disorder subtypes. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1611–1624.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

At the time of this study, Anne V. Snow and Luc Lecavalier were at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Anne V. Snow is now at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, supported by a NIDRR training grant (H133P050001). We would like to thank the families who participated in this study. We would also like to acknowledge and thank Chas Albright, who assisted in the data collection for this project. An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in May 2009.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ohio State University, Nisonger Center, 305 McCampbell Hall, 1581 Dodd Drive, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Anne V. Snow & Luc Lecavalier

Authors
  1. Anne V. Snow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Luc Lecavalier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luc Lecavalier.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Snow, A.V., Lecavalier, L. Comparing Autism, PDD-NOS, and Other Developmental Disabilities on Parent-Reported Behavior Problems: Little Evidence for ASD Subtype Validity. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 302–310 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1054-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1054-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation