One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and Toddlers
Some studies show that the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder could be considered reliable and stable in children aged 18 to 24 months. Nevertheless, the diagnostic stability of early ASD diagnosis has not yet been fully demonstrated. This observational study examines the one-year diagnostic stab...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/37 |
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| author | Loredana Benedetto Francesca Cucinotta Roberta Maggio Eva Germanò Roberta De Raco Ausilia Alquino Caterina Impallomeni Rosamaria Siracusano Luigi Vetri Michele Roccella Massimo Ingrassia Antonella Gagliano |
| author_facet | Loredana Benedetto Francesca Cucinotta Roberta Maggio Eva Germanò Roberta De Raco Ausilia Alquino Caterina Impallomeni Rosamaria Siracusano Luigi Vetri Michele Roccella Massimo Ingrassia Antonella Gagliano |
| author_sort | Loredana Benedetto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Some studies show that the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder could be considered reliable and stable in children aged 18 to 24 months. Nevertheless, the diagnostic stability of early ASD diagnosis has not yet been fully demonstrated. This observational study examines the one-year diagnostic stability of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in a clinical sample of 147 children diagnosed between 18 and 48 months of age. The ADOS-2 scores were used in order to stratify children in three levels of symptom severity: Autism (AD; comparison score 5–7), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; comparison score 3–4), and Sub-Threshold Symptoms; (STS; comparison score 1–2). Results: Overall, the largest part of children and toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder between 18 and 48 months continued to show autistic symptoms at one-year follow-up evaluation. Nevertheless, a significant percentage of children with higher ADOS severity scores exhibited a reduction of symptom severity and, therefore, moved towards a milder severity class one year later. Conversely, the number of subjects of the STS group meaningfully increased. Therefore, at one-year follow-up a statistically significant (χ<sup>2</sup>(2) = 181.46, <i>p</i> < 0.0001) percentage of subjects (25.2% of the total) who had received a categorical diagnosis of Autistic Disorder or Autism Spectrum Disorder in baseline no longer met the criteria for a categorical diagnosis. Furthermore, children who no longer met the criteria for autism spectrum disorder continue to show delays in one or more neurodevelopmental areas, possibly related to the emergence of other neurodevelopmental/neuropsychiatric disorders. Overall, the comprehensive results of the study account for a high sensibility but a moderate stability of ASD early diagnosis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:34:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0782e37ce7524b208b2d148ea74cebe6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:34:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0782e37ce7524b208b2d148ea74cebe62023-11-21T07:39:07ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-01-011113710.3390/brainsci11010037One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and ToddlersLoredana Benedetto0Francesca Cucinotta1Roberta Maggio2Eva Germanò3Roberta De Raco4Ausilia Alquino5Caterina Impallomeni6Rosamaria Siracusano7Luigi Vetri8Michele Roccella9Massimo Ingrassia10Antonella Gagliano11Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyDivision of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of the Adult and Developmental Age Human Pathology, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyDivision of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of the Adult and Developmental Age Human Pathology, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyDivision of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of the Adult and Developmental Age Human Pathology, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyDivision of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of the Adult and Developmental Age Human Pathology, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyDivision of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of the Adult and Developmental Age Human Pathology, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyDivision of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Federico II University Hospital Naples, 80131 Napoli, ItalyDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care “G. D’Alessandro”, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, ItalyChild & Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, ItalySome studies show that the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder could be considered reliable and stable in children aged 18 to 24 months. Nevertheless, the diagnostic stability of early ASD diagnosis has not yet been fully demonstrated. This observational study examines the one-year diagnostic stability of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in a clinical sample of 147 children diagnosed between 18 and 48 months of age. The ADOS-2 scores were used in order to stratify children in three levels of symptom severity: Autism (AD; comparison score 5–7), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; comparison score 3–4), and Sub-Threshold Symptoms; (STS; comparison score 1–2). Results: Overall, the largest part of children and toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder between 18 and 48 months continued to show autistic symptoms at one-year follow-up evaluation. Nevertheless, a significant percentage of children with higher ADOS severity scores exhibited a reduction of symptom severity and, therefore, moved towards a milder severity class one year later. Conversely, the number of subjects of the STS group meaningfully increased. Therefore, at one-year follow-up a statistically significant (χ<sup>2</sup>(2) = 181.46, <i>p</i> < 0.0001) percentage of subjects (25.2% of the total) who had received a categorical diagnosis of Autistic Disorder or Autism Spectrum Disorder in baseline no longer met the criteria for a categorical diagnosis. Furthermore, children who no longer met the criteria for autism spectrum disorder continue to show delays in one or more neurodevelopmental areas, possibly related to the emergence of other neurodevelopmental/neuropsychiatric disorders. Overall, the comprehensive results of the study account for a high sensibility but a moderate stability of ASD early diagnosis.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/37autism spectrum disorderbehavioral treatmentdiagnostic stabilityfollow-up |
| spellingShingle | Loredana Benedetto Francesca Cucinotta Roberta Maggio Eva Germanò Roberta De Raco Ausilia Alquino Caterina Impallomeni Rosamaria Siracusano Luigi Vetri Michele Roccella Massimo Ingrassia Antonella Gagliano One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and Toddlers Brain Sciences autism spectrum disorder behavioral treatment diagnostic stability follow-up |
| title | One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and Toddlers |
| title_full | One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and Toddlers |
| title_fullStr | One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and Toddlers |
| title_full_unstemmed | One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and Toddlers |
| title_short | One-Year Follow-Up Diagnostic Stability of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis in a Clinical Sample of Children and Toddlers |
| title_sort | one year follow up diagnostic stability of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in a clinical sample of children and toddlers |
| topic | autism spectrum disorder behavioral treatment diagnostic stability follow-up |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/37 |
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