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Use of Home Videotapes to Confirm Parental Reports of Regression in Autism

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Abstract

The current study examined consistency between parental reports on early language development and behaviors in non-language domains and observer-coded videotapes of young children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autistic regression. Data are reported on 56 children (84% male) with ASD (early onset or autistic regression) and 14 typically developing children (57% male) who had home videotapes. Unique to the current study is the independent identification of loss/no loss for each child by both parental report and observer-coded home videotapes and the examination of agreement between these two methods. Results indicate substantial concordance between parental report and observer codes for onset and loss of expressive language, but minimal concordance for loss in non-language domains, suggesting a need for supplementation of parental reports in these areas.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), HD 35458, M.A. Spence, P.I. This project was conducted under the auspices of the Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism network. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions made by Kelly Jarvis to the coding of the videotapes and many other aspects of the project. Professor Carol Whalen provided valuable suggestions on an earlier draft of the manuscript. We also thank the children and parents who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, 3389 School of Social Ecology II, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA

    Wendy A. Goldberg & Kara L. Thorsen

  2. Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    Kathryn Osann

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    M. Anne Spence

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  1. Wendy A. Goldberg
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  2. Kara L. Thorsen
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  3. Kathryn Osann
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  4. M. Anne Spence
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Correspondence to Wendy A. Goldberg.

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Goldberg, W.A., Thorsen, K.L., Osann, K. et al. Use of Home Videotapes to Confirm Parental Reports of Regression in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 1136–1146 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0498-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0498-6

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