Co-morbid developmental impairments and their co-occurrence in five-year-old boys with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Abstract Background and objectives Co-morbid developmental deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are important for both clinical and empirical reasons. This study aimed to measure developmental problems related to motor function, perception, learning, language, and social skills in preschool-aged children with ASD and to look at their possible co-occurrences. Patients and methods The study comprised 18 five-year-old boys with a diagnosis of ASD and 54 typically developing controls. Mothers were approached with the parent version of the Five-to-Fifteen Questionnaire (FTF). To explore possible co-occurrences of developmental problems, a network analysis was performed. Results The ASD children presented with higher values (more problems) on the fine motor skills, the perception of forms and figures, the learning, as well as on the social skills. According to the network analysis, co-occurrences of the developmental problems without any obvious mediator variable were characteristic of the typically developing children. Co-occurrences of the developmental problems in the ASD children were more limited and were most prominent between the perception abilities linked with verbal communication, ability to solve problems and fine motor skills. The relation in space had the highest value on the betweenness score thus implying its mediating effect. ASD children presented with a specific constellation of developmental problems reflecting the principle of a nontrivial topology of psychopathological network. Conclusion ASD children have co-morbid developmental impairments that co-occur in a specific pattern, and new techniques that can accommodate the complex associations between symptoms present in an individual patient with ASD are needed.