Social and Communication Abilities and Disabilities in Higher Functioning Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Vineland and the ADOS

Abstract

The relationship between adaptive functioning (ability) and autism symptomatology (disability) remains unclear, especially for higher functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigates ability and disability using the Vineland and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), respectively, in two clinical samples of children with ASD. Participants included 187 males with VIQ > 70. Vineland scores were substantially below VIQ, highlighting the magnitude of adaptive impairments despite cognitive potential. A weak relationship was found between ability and disability. Negative relationships were found between age and Vineland scores and no relationships were found between age and ADOS scores. Positive relationships were found between IQ and Vineland Communication. Results stress the need for longitudinal studies on ability and disability in ASD and emphasize the importance of adaptive skills intervention.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms, Adaptive Functioning, and Quality of Life in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…3 Parents of children with ASDs have reported more concerns about their child's well-being than parents of unaffected children or those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 4 Klin et al 5 found that children with high-functioning ASDs were more impaired in adaptive functioning on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales in comparison with those without ASDs.…”

Evolução da criança autista a partir da resposta materna ao Autism Behavior Checklist

“…Together with an assessment of intellectual level, the social quotient more accurately describes the social abilities and disabilities of individuals. (19)(20)(21)(22) We also noticed that the extension and velocity of the evolutional process were generally more evident in the first six months, especially in the TG. It is during the first semester that the orientations and the direct intervention with the children had the largest impact, thereby allowing the identification of a more expressive therapeutic gain on the part of the mothers.…”

Unexpected changes of itinerary – adaptive functioning difficulties in daily transitions for adults with autism spectrum disorder

“…This age group also shows higher communication and socialisation standard scores than young adults and adults (Matthews et al 2015). Previous studies of children and adolescents with ASD also report a relative weakness in socialisation compared to communication and DLS (Klin et al 2007). This may be often driven by the fact that individuals with ASD without cognitive impairment have or develop ageappropriate verbal skills such as articulation, grammar, and semantics, despite atypical non-verbal communication (e.g.…”

“…Patterns of negative correlation between age and adaptive functioning and cognitive functioning advantage widening with age have been found in ASD (Klin et al 2007;Perry et al 2009;Kanne et al 2011). Existing research also shows that development of adaptive skills appears to stagnate in children with ASD and mild or no cognitive impairment in comparison to typically developing peers (Kanne et al 2011).…”

“…Adaptive behaviour is defined by typical performance, rather than ability (Sparrow et al 2005cited in Matthews et al 2015. The latter means that adaptive functioning can be lowered even when cognitive functioning is average, making it necessary to separately address adaptive skills in interventions for individuals with ASD (Klin et al 2007). …”