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Brief Report: The Development of Compliance in Toddlers at-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report concerns with child compliance. The development of compliance in 24-, 30-, and 36-month-old high-risk children with ASD outcomes (n = 21), high-risk children without ASD (n = 49), and low-risk children (n = 41) was examined. The High-Risk/ASD group showed greater passive noncompliance at 24-months than the non-ASD groups and a smaller increase in compliance than the High-Risk/No ASD group. The High-Risk/ASD group also showed a smaller decline in active noncompliance than the Low-Risk group. After controlling for receptive language, the passive noncompliance findings were nonsignificant whereas compliance and active noncompliance findings retained significance. The growth of compliance is attenuated in children with ASD, while changes in passive noncompliance are in part associated with language comprehension.

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Acknowledgments

The research reported in this article was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (R01HD057284 & R01HD047417), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01GM105004), and the National Science Foundation (1052736). We thank the families who participated in this research.

Author contribution

NE participated in study conception, data collection, data coding,data analysis, interpretation, and manuscript writing. NM participated in study conception, data collection, data coding, data analysis interpretation, and manuscript writing. MP participated in manuscript writing. DM participated in longitudinal study design, study conception, data collection, data analysis interpretation, and manuscript writing.

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Author notes

  1. Nicole M. McDonald

    Present address: University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 298920, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA

    Naomi V. Ekas & Megan M. Pruitt

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, USA

    Nicole M. McDonald & Daniel S. Messinger

Authors
  1. Naomi V. Ekas
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  2. Nicole M. McDonald
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  3. Megan M. Pruitt
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  4. Daniel S. Messinger
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Correspondence to Naomi V. Ekas.

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Ekas, N.V., McDonald, N.M., Pruitt, M.M. et al. Brief Report: The Development of Compliance in Toddlers at-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 1239–1248 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2984-1

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