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Examining the Clinical Correlates of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Youth by Ascertainment Source

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Abstract

To examine whether presentation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and associated patterns of psychiatric comorbidity and dysfunction vary by referral source. ASD youth referred to a specialized ambulatory program for ASD (N = 143) were compared to ASD youth referred to a general child psychiatry clinic (N = 217). More ASD clinic youth met criteria for a more robust form of ASD (autistic disorder); more youth referred to the psychiatry clinic met criteria for broader spectrum ASD (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified). General psychiatry clinic youth with ASD suffered from a greater burden of psychopathologies and higher levels of dysfunction. The presentation of ASD in psychiatrically referred youth differs between general and ASD-specialized clinics, though both referral populations have high levels of comorbidity and dysfunction.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been funded in part by the Alan and Lorraine Bressler Clinical and Research Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder, the Dupont Warren Fellowship Award, the Norma Fine Pediatric Psychopharmacology Fellowship Fund, and the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Council Fund.

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  1. Carter Petty

    Present address: Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, YAW 6A, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Gagan Joshi, Janet Wozniak, Carter Petty, Ronna Fried, Maribel Galdo, Stephannie L. Furtak, Katie McDermott, Cecily Epstien, Rosemary Walker, Ashley Caron, Leah Feinberg & Joseph Biederman

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Gagan Joshi, Janet Wozniak, Ronna Fried & Joseph Biederman

  3. Departments of Psychiatry and of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Stephen V. Faraone

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  1. Gagan Joshi
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Correspondence to Gagan Joshi.

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Joshi, G., Faraone, S.V., Wozniak, J. et al. Examining the Clinical Correlates of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Youth by Ascertainment Source. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 2117–2126 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2063-4

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