Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Relationship Between Developmental Functioning and Screening Outcome for Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Because early intervention often leads to the best outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is important that these children are identified as early as possible. Therefore, exploration of tools that could be used to identify at-risk children at an early age is needed. Such a tool could assist health professionals and their decision about whether to refer an individual for a full diagnostic assessment for ASD. Several studies have demonstrated and supported the use of screening algorithms created from measures of developmental functioning. The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between a measure of developmental functioning and screening outcome in infants and toddlers screened for ASD. Participants were 13,781 infants and toddlers screened for ASD. Results demonstrated that the Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2) Total Developmental Quotient and Domain scores were statistically significant predictors of screening outcome for both younger and older infants and toddlers. This suggests that the BDI-2 can be a useful tool in the screening of ASD among infants and toddlers seeking and/or receiving early intervention services.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allison, C., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Charman, T., Richler, J., Pasco, G., & Brayne, C. (2008). The Q-CHAT (quantitative CHecklist for autism in toddlers): a normally distributed quantitative measure of autistic traits at 18–24 months of age: Preliminary report. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(8), 1414–1425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, C., Auyeung, B., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Toward brief “red flags” for autism screening: the short autism spectrum quotient and the short quantitative checklist in 1,000 cases and 3,000 controls. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(2), 202–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Baio, J., Wiggins, L., Christensen, D. L., Maenner, M. J., Daniels, J., Warren, Z., et al. (2018). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 sites, United States, 2014. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67, 67–23. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6706a1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, J., Steiner, A. M., Gengoux, G., & Koegel, L. K. (2015). Feasibility and effectiveness of very early intervention for infants at-risk for autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(3), 778–794. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2235-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brereton, A. V., Tonge, B. J., Mackinnon, A. J., & Einfeld, S. L. (2002). Screening young people for autism with the developmental behavior checklist. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(11), 1369–1375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cervantes, P. E., & Matson, J. L. (2015). Comorbid symptomology in adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 3961–3970. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2553-z.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chawarska, K., Shic, F., Macari, S., Campbell, D. J., Brian, J., Landa, R., et al. (2014). 18-month predictors of later outcomes in younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder: a baby siblings research consortium study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(12), 1317–1327.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2014.09.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einfeld, S. L., & Tonge, B. J. (1995). The developmental behavior checklist: the development and validation of an instrument to assess behavioral and emotional disturbance in children and adolescents with mental retardation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25(2), 81–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eldin, A. S., Habib, D., Noufal, A., Farrag, S., Bazaid, K., Al-Sharbati, M., et al. (2008). Use of M-CHAT for a multinational screening of young children with autism in the Arab countries. International Review of Psychiatry, 20(3), 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540260801990324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsabbagh, M., Fernandes, J., Jane Webb, S., Dawson, G., Charman, T., & Johnson, M. H. (2013). Disengagement of visual attention in infancy is associated with emerging autism in toddlerhood. Biological Psychiatry, 74(3), 189–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.11.030.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Estes, A., Munson, J., Rogers, S. J., Greenson, J., Winter, J., & Dawson, G. (2015a). Long-term outcomes of early intervention in 6-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(7), 580–587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2015.04.005.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Estes, A., Zwaigenbaum, L., Gu, H., St. John, T., Paterson, S., Elison, J. T., et al. (2015b). Behavioral, cognitive, and adaptive development in infants with autism spectrum disorder in the first 2 years of life. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 7(1), 24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne, E. (2002). Epidemiological trends in rates of autism. Molecular Psychiatry, 7(s2), S4–S6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glascoe, F. P., & Byrne, K. E. (1993a). The accuracy of three developmental screening tests. Journal of Early Intervention, 17(4), 368–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glascoe, F. P., & Byrne, K. E. (1993b). The usefulness of the Battelle developmental inventory screening test. Clinical Pediatrics, 32(5), 273–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gowen, E., & Hamilton, A. (2013). Motor abilities in autism: a review using a computational context. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(2), 323–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, K. M., & Tonge, B. J. (2005). Screening for autism in infants and preschool children with developmental delay. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 39(5), 378–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, K. M., Tonge, B. J., Sweeney, D. J., & Einfeld, S. L. (2008). Screening for autism in young children with developmental delay: an evaluation of the developmental behaviour checklist: early screen. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(6), 1003–1010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W., & Klin, A. (2013). Attention to eyes is present but in decline in 2–6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism. Nature, 504(7480), 427–431. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12715.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Landa, R. J., Gross, A. L., Stuart, E. A., & Faherty, A. (2013). Developmental trajectories in children with and without autism spectrum disorders: the first 3 years. Child Development, 84(2), 429–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matheis, M., & Matson, J. L. (2015). Autism spectrum disorder screening refusal rates: findings form a statewide early intervention program. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 27(6), 755–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matson, J. L., Boisjoli, J., & Wilkins, J. (2007). The Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT). Baton Rouge: Disability Consultants, LLC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matson, J. L., Wilkins, J., Sevin, J. A., Knight, C., Boisjoli, J. A., & Sharp, B. (2009a). Reliability and item content of the baby and infant screen for children with aUtIsm traits (BISCUIT): Parts 1–3. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3(2), 336–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2008.08.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matson, J. L., Wilkins, J., Sharp, B., Knight, C., Sevin, J. A., & Boisjoli, J. A. (2009b). Sensitivity and specificity of the baby and infant screen for children with aUtIsm traits (BISCUIT): validity and cutoff scores for autism and PDD-NOS in toddlers. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3(4), 924–930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2009.04.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matson, J. L., Boisjoli, J. A., Hess, J. A., & Wilkins, J. (2010). Factor structure and diagnostic fidelity of the baby and infant screen for children with aUtIsm traits–part 1 (BISCUIT–part 1). Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 13(2), 72–79. https://doi.org/10.3109/17518420903213576.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matson, J. L., Wilkins, J., & Fodstad, J. C. (2011). The validity of the baby and infant screen for children with aUtIsm traits: Part 1 (BISCUIT: Part 1). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(9), 1139–1146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-0973-3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, J., Hemmings, C., Kravariti, E., Dworzynski, K., Holt, G., Bouras, N., & Tsakanikos, E. (2010). Challenging behavior and co-morbid psychopathology in adults with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31(2), 362–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2009.10.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCleery, J. P., Elliott, N. A., Sampanis, D. S., & Stefanidou, C. A. (2013). Motor development and motor resonance difficulties in autism: relevance to early intervention for language and communication skills. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 7, 30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. S., Gabrielsen, T., Villalobos, M., Alleman, R., Wahmoff, N., Carbone, P. S., & Segura, B. (2011). The each child study: systematic screening for autism spectrum disorders in a pediatric setting. Pediatrics, 127(5), 866–871.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newborg, J. (2005). Battelle developmental inventory - Second Edition. Itasca: Riverside Pub.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S., Young, G. S., Goldring, S., Greiss-Hess, L., Herrera, A. M., Steele, J., et al. (2008). Gross motor development, movement abnormalities, and early identification of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(4), 644–656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, R., Loomis, R., & Chawarska, K. (2014). Adaptive behavior in toddlers under two with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(2), 264–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellicano, E. (2010a). Individual differences in executive function and central coherence predict developmental changes in theory of mind in autism. Developmental Psychology, 46(2), 530–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellicano, E. (2010b). The development of core cognitive skills in autism: a 3-year prospective study. Child Development, 81(5), 1400–1416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robins, D. L., Fein, D., Barton, M. L., & Green, J. A. (2001). The modified checklist for autism in toddlers: an initial study investigating the early detection of autism and pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(2), 131–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robins, D. L., Casagrande, K., Barton, M., Chen, C.-M. A., Dumont-Mathieu, T., & Fein, D. (2014). Validation of the modified checklist for autism in toddlers, revised with follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F). Pediatrics, 133(1), 37–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roux, A. M., Herrera, P., Wold, C. M., Dunkle, M. C., Glascoe, F. P., & Shattuck, P. T. (2012). Developmental and autism screening through 2-1-1: reaching underserved families. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43(6, Supplement 5), S457–S463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., Bailey, A., & Lord, C. (2003). The social communication questionnaire: Manual. Western Psychological Services.

  • Sipes, M., Matson, J. L., & Turygin, N. (2011). The use of the Battelle developmental inventory–second edition (BDI-2) as an early screener for autism spectrum disorders. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 14(5), 310–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siu, A. L., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Grossman, D. C., Baumann, L. C., Davidson, K. W., Ebell, M., et al. (2016). Screening for autism spectrum disorder in young children: US preventive services task force recommendation statement. Jama, 315(7), 691–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szatmari, P., Georgiades, S., Duku, E., Bennett, T. A., Bryson, S., Fombonne, E., et al. (2015). Developmental trajectories of symptom severity and adaptive functioning in an inception cohort of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(3), 276–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tonnsen, B. L., Boan, A. D., Bradley, C. C., Charles, J., Cohen, A., & Carpenter, L. A. (2016). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders among children with intellectual disability. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 121(6), 487–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witwer, A. N., & Lecavalier, L. (2007). Autism screening tools: an evaluation of the social communication questionnaire and the developmental behaviour checklist–autism screening algorithm. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 32(3), 179–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zwaigenbaum, L., Bauman, M. L., Choueiri, R., Kasari, C., Carter, A., Granpeesheh, D., et al. (2015). Early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder under 3 years of age: recommendations for practice and research. Pediatrics, 136(Supplement 1), S60–S81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    W. Jason Peters & Johnny L. Matson

Authors
  1. W. Jason Peters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Johnny L. Matson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. Jason Peters.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

Both the university's and state's institutional review boards approved this study prior to data collection. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from participating individuals prior to data collection.

Conflict of Interest

One of the authors is a co-author of the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits, which is owned and distributed through his wife’s company, Disability Consultants, LLC.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peters, W.J., Matson, J.L. The Relationship Between Developmental Functioning and Screening Outcome for Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Dev Phys Disabil 32, 293–305 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-019-09689-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-019-09689-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation