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Association between impairment, function, and daily life task management in children and adolescents with autism
Author(s) -
Kao YingChia,
Kramer Jessica M,
Liljenquist Kendra,
Coster Wendy J
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/dmcn.12562
Subject(s) - autism , psychology , association (psychology) , cognition , developmental psychology , activities of daily living , social skills , autism spectrum disorder , multilevel model , intelligence quotient , clinical psychology , psychiatry , machine learning , computer science , psychotherapist
Aim This cross‐sectional study examined whether impairments or functional skills are associated with the level of responsibility for life tasks for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Method Parents of 263 children and adolescents with ASDs (215 males; 48 females; mean age 12y 6mo [SD 4y 6mo], range 3–21y) completed an online survey that included the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory‐Computer Adaptive Test – Autism Spectrum Disorders (PEDI‐CAT‐ASD) Daily Activities, Social/Cognitive, and Responsibility domains, a demographic questionnaire, and the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) Current. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Framework guided the selection of model variables. We used hierarchical multiple regression to examine the relationship between impairment and functional skill predictor variables and the outcome variable, Responsibility. Age was entered in step 1 to control for the impact of development. SCQ Current, IQ, and remaining PEDI‐CAT‐ASD domains were then entered in step 2. Results After controlling for age, the model showed that step 2 predictor variables representing both impairments and functional skill improved the model ( p <0.001). All variables except the SCQ score were significant predictors of Responsibility. The variance explained by the Daily Activities (2.7%) and Social/Cognitive (4.8%) domain scores was greater than IQ (0.3%). Interpretation The functional skills of Daily Activities and Social/Cognitive domains were more strongly associated with the management of life tasks than impairments after controlling for age.