International Meeting for Autism Research (London, May 15-17, 2008): COMPARISON OF BEHAVIORAL AND SYMPTOMATIC CHARACTERISTICS BETWEEN ASPERGER'S DISORDER AND ATTENTION-DEFICIT /HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: A SAMPLE OF TAIWANESE CHILDREN
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COMPARISON OF BEHAVIORAL AND SYMPTOMATIC CHARACTERISTICS BETWEEN ASPERGER'S DISORDER AND ATTENTION-DEFICIT /HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: A SAMPLE OF TAIWANESE CHILDREN

Saturday, May 17, 2008
Champagne Terrace/Bordeaux (Novotel London West)
9:30 AM
T. N. Tsai , Graduate Institute of Clinical Behavioral Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
S. R. Lee , Department of Child Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
C. C. Chao , Graduate Institute of Clinical Behavioral Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Y. Y. Wu , Department of Child Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
Z. Y. Yen , Graduate Institute of Clinical Behavioral Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
L. Y. Wang , Graduate Institute of Clinical Behavioral Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Background: Recent researches have reported observed similarities in the behavioral and symptomatic characteristics between children with Asperger’s disorder (AD) and those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Difficulty in making differential diagnosis of AD and ADHD has been encountered by many clinicians. More studies are needed to examine this phenomenon and address the diagnostic issue.

Objectives: This study intends to examine and compare the behavioral and symptomatic characteristics of Taiwanese children with Asperger’s disorder and those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Methods: Twenty-nine boys (14 with AD and 15 with ADHD) and their parents and teachers participated in this study. AD and ADHD groups were matched on their age and IQ (Mean age = 9.3 years, Range = 6~15 years; Mean IQ = 102.75, Range = 75~129). Data included (1) parental ratings on Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale (GADS), and Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Version 4th(SNAP-4th); (2) teacher’s ratings on Teacher Report Form (TRF), GADS, and SNAP-4th; and (3) Children’s performance on Conners’ Continuous Performance Test-II (CCPT-II) and Children’s version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test.

Results: The results showed no significant difference was observed between groups on all the measures, except GADS. On the GADS, compared to ADHD group, AD group received significantly higher parental ratings on symptoms of cognitive patterns (p=.003) and pragmatic skills (p=.026), as well as higher teacher’s ratings on cognitive patterns (p=.015).

Conclusions: The results of this study are consistent with previous findings that AD and ADHD children displayed many similar behavioral and symptomatic characteristics. The only measure that differentiated our AD and ADHD samples is the GADS, suggesting the importance of collecting information from parents and teachers regarding AD symptoms in making differential diagnosis of AD and ADHD. Further studies should include a larger sample and more sensitive measures.

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