![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.JPG)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Champagne Terrace/Bordeaux (Novotel London West)
10:30 AM
Background: Although social, communication, and behavioral deficits define ASDs, comorbid features further characterize children with the disorders.
Objectives: This study examines comorbid features that predict ASD case status in a surveillance cohort, including eating/drinking/sleeping difficulties, mood difficulties, cognitive scatter, aggression, oppositional behaviors, delayed or unusual motor development, lack of fear or excessive fearfulness, unusual sensory response, self injurious behaviors, seizures or seizure-like behaviors, and temper tantrums.
Methods: 517 children were identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance system in Atlanta as being a potential ASD surveillance case. Clinicians applied a standardized coding scheme to abstracted health and educational records to code the presence or absence of comorbid features. Based on pre-determined criteria, 285 children were defined as an ASD surveillance case. Comorbid features did not influence case status; they were recorded to further characterize children with ASDs.
Results: Results indicated 75.6% correct classification for ASD cases provided by the logistic regression model (compared to 55.1% correct classification provided by the null model). Unusual sensory response (p = .000), lack of fear or excessive fearfulness (p = .013), and delayed or unusual motor development (p = .017) made significant contributions to correct ASD classification. Odds of being classified as an ASD surveillance case increased 12.85 for unusual sensory response, 1.80 for lack of fear or excessive fearfulness, and 1.70 for delayed or unusual motor development.
Conclusions: Children defined as an ASD surveillance case can be predicted by the presence of unusual sensory response, lack of fear or excessive fearfulness, and delayed or unusual motor development recorded in health and educational records. Unusual sensory response contributed six times more to correct classification than other significant predictors. These results suggest that sensory abnormalities are significant comorbid features that may help further characterize and distinguish children with ASDs.
Objectives: This study examines comorbid features that predict ASD case status in a surveillance cohort, including eating/drinking/sleeping difficulties, mood difficulties, cognitive scatter, aggression, oppositional behaviors, delayed or unusual motor development, lack of fear or excessive fearfulness, unusual sensory response, self injurious behaviors, seizures or seizure-like behaviors, and temper tantrums.
Methods: 517 children were identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance system in Atlanta as being a potential ASD surveillance case. Clinicians applied a standardized coding scheme to abstracted health and educational records to code the presence or absence of comorbid features. Based on pre-determined criteria, 285 children were defined as an ASD surveillance case. Comorbid features did not influence case status; they were recorded to further characterize children with ASDs.
Results: Results indicated 75.6% correct classification for ASD cases provided by the logistic regression model (compared to 55.1% correct classification provided by the null model). Unusual sensory response (p = .000), lack of fear or excessive fearfulness (p = .013), and delayed or unusual motor development (p = .017) made significant contributions to correct ASD classification. Odds of being classified as an ASD surveillance case increased 12.85 for unusual sensory response, 1.80 for lack of fear or excessive fearfulness, and 1.70 for delayed or unusual motor development.
Conclusions: Children defined as an ASD surveillance case can be predicted by the presence of unusual sensory response, lack of fear or excessive fearfulness, and delayed or unusual motor development recorded in health and educational records. Unusual sensory response contributed six times more to correct classification than other significant predictors. These results suggest that sensory abnormalities are significant comorbid features that may help further characterize and distinguish children with ASDs.