Mirko Uljarević1,2, Darren Hedley2,3, Rose Nevill4,5, David W Evans6, Ru Ying Cai2, Eric Butter3,4, James A Mulick4. 1. Stanford Autism Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California. 2. Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 3. Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. 4. The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 5. Kennedy Krieger Institute and John Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. 6. Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Abstract
The present study examined the link between poor self-regulation (measured by the child behavior checklist dysregulated profile [DP]) and core autism symptoms, as well as with developmental level, in a sample of 107 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 19-46 months. We further examined the utility of DP in predicting individual differences in adaptive functioning, relative to the influence of ASD severity, chronological age (CA), and developmental level. Poor self-regulation was unrelated to CA, developmental level, and severity of ADOS-2 restricted and repetitive behaviors, but was associated with lower ADOS-2 social affect severity. Hierarchical regression identified poor self-regulation as a unique independent predictor of adaptive behavior, with more severe dysregulation predicting poorer adaptive functioning. Results highlight the importance of early identification of deficits in self-regulation, and more specifically, of the utility of DP, when designing individually tailored treatments for young children with ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1157-1165.
The present study examined the link between poor self-regulation (measured by the child behavior checklist dysregulated profile [DP]) and core autism symptoms, as well as with developmental level, in a sample of 107 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 19-46 months. We further examined the utility of DP in predicting individual differences in adaptive functioning, relative to the influence of ASD severity, chronological age (CA), and developmental level. Poor self-regulation was unrelated to CA, developmental level, and severity of ADOS-2 restricted and repetitive behaviors, but was associated with lower ADOS-2 social affect severity. Hierarchical regression identified poor self-regulation as a unique independent predictor of adaptive behavior, with more severe dysregulation predicting poorer adaptive functioning. Results highlight the importance of early identification of deficits in self-regulation, and more specifically, of the utility of DP, when designing individually tailored treatments for young children with ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1157-1165.