Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents with Autism Compared to Young People with Intellectual Disability

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a specific pattern of behavioural, communication and social problems. Additional mental health problems are often poorly understood and undetected. This study investigates the level and pattern of emotional and behavioural problems in young people with autism compared with children with intellectual disability (ID). Subjects were 381 young people with autism and a representative group of 581 Australian young people with ID aged 4–18 years. Parents/carers provided details of the emotional and behavioural problems of their child using the Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC-P). Young people with autism were found to suffer from significantly higher levels of psychopathology than young people with ID. The implications of this finding are discussed.

[1]  B. Tonge,et al.  Population prevalence of psychopathology in children and adolescents with intellectual disability: I. Rationale and methods. , 1996, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[2]  E. Fombonne.  Autism: Recent research findings , 1997 .

[3]  A. Gillott,et al.  Anxiety in High-Functioning Children with Autism , 2001, Autism : the international journal of research and practice.

[4]  D A Krug,et al.  Behavior checklist for identifying severely handicapped individuals with high levels of autistic behavior. , 1980, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[5]  F. Volkmar,et al.  Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders , 1987 .

[6]  C. Lord,et al.  Sex differences in autism , 1982, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

[7]  B. Tonge,et al.  Assessing Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Children with Intellectual Disability: Revisiting the Factor Structure of the Developmental Behavior Checklist , 2002, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[8]  A. Brereton,et al.  Autism: Fifty years on from Kanner , 1994, Journal of paediatrics and child health.

[9]  A. Azizian,et al.  Psychiatric Symptoms in Preschool Children with PDD and Clinic and Comparison Samples , 2004, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[10]  C. Gillberg,et al.  Outcome and prognostic factors in infantile autism and similar conditions: A population-based study of 46 cases followed through puberty , 1987, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[11]  J. Sverd.  Psychiatric Disorders in Individuals with Pervasive Developmental Disorder , 2003, Journal of psychiatric practice.

[12]  S. Bryson,et al.  Epidemiology of autism: Prevalence, associated characteristics, and implications for research and service delivery , 1998 .

[13]  S. Bryson,et al.  Comparing Rates of Psychiatric and Behavior Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults with Severe Intellectual Disability with and without Autism , 2004, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[14]  C. McDougle,et al.  A case-controlled study of repetitive thoughts and behavior in adults with autistic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. , 1995, The American journal of psychiatry.

[15]  B. Tonge,et al.  Behavior and emotional disturbance in Prader-Willi syndrome. , 1999, American journal of medical genetics.

[16]  M K DeMyer,et al.  Infantile autism reviewed: a decade of research. , 1981, Schizophrenia bulletin.

[17]  C. Gillberg and,et al.  Autism and Asperger syndrome: coexistence with other clinical disorders , 2000, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[18]  H. Steinhausen,et al.  Differentiating the behavioural profile in autism and mental retardation and testing of a screener , 2004, European child & adolescent psychiatry.

[19]  B. Birmaher,et al.  CASE STUDY Methylphenidate Treatment of Hyperactive Autistic Children , 1988 .

[20]  B. Tonge,et al.  Longitudinal course of behavioral and emotional problems in Williams syndrome. , 2001, American journal of mental retardation : AJMR.

[21]  B. Tonge,et al.  Behavioral and emotional disturbance in individuals with Williams syndrome. , 1997, American journal of mental retardation : AJMR.

[22]  C. Lord,et al.  Early Intervention for Children with Autism and Related Developmental Disorders , 1993 .

[23]  B. Tonge,et al.  Psychometric and clinical assessment of psychopathology in developmentally disabled children , 1991 .

[24]  Avshalom Caspi,et al.  Using sex differences in psychopathology to study causal mechanisms: unifying issues and research strategies. , 2003, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[25]  B. Tonge,et al.  The Developmental Behavior Checklist: The development and validation of an instrument to assess behavioral and emotional disturbance in children and adolescents with mental retardation , 1995, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[26]  Dc Washington.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. , 1994 .

[27]  R. Hastings,et al.  Exploration of Psychometric Properties of the Developmental Behavior Checklist , 2001, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[28]  S. Goldstein,et al.  The Comorbidity of Pervasive Developmental Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Results of a Retrospective Chart Review , 2004, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[29]  Fred R. Volkmar,et al.  Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders, 2nd ed. , 1997 .

[30]  Patricia Howlin,et al.  Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome: A Guide for Practitioners and Carers , 1999 .

[31]  M. Rutter.  Autistic children: infancy to adulthood. , 1970, Seminars in psychiatry.

[32]  B. Tonge,et al.  Population prevalence of psychopathology in children and adolescents with intellectual disability: II. Epidemiological findings. , 1996, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[33]  T. Koskentausta,et al.  Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) in the assessment of psychopathology in Finnish children with intellectual disability , 2004 .

[34]  J. Greden,et al.  Depression in Persons with Autism: Implications for Research and Clinical Care , 2002, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[35]  S. Faraone,et al.  Should the diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity disorder be considered in children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder? , 2001 .

[36]  E. Schopler,et al.  Toward objective classification of childhood autism: Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) , 1980, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[37]  J. McCracken,et al.  Autism, affective disorders, and social phobia. , 1995, American journal of medical genetics.

[38]  R. Hastings,et al.  Behavioural and emotional difficulties in students attending schools for children and adolescents with severe intellectual disability. , 2001, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[39]  R. Cummins,et al.  Self-reported fears: a comparison study of youths with and without an intellectual disability. , 1996, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[40]  C. Gillberg,et al.  The long‐term course of autistic disorders: update on follow‐up studies , 1998, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[41]  L. Wing,et al.  Language, social, and cognitive impairments in autism and severe mental retardation , 1981, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[42]  C. Gillberg,et al.  Biology of the Autistic Syndromes , 1994 .

[43]  S. Bryson,et al.  The Prevalence of Anxiety and Mood Problems among Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome , 2000 .

[44]  A. Mackinnon,et al.  Screening young people for autism with the developmental behavior checklist. , 2002, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[45]  Developmental Issues and Prognosis , 1978 .

[46]  M. Rutter,et al.  Autism , 1978, Springer US.

[47]  P. Hoare,et al.  A community survey of children with severe intellectual disability and their families: psychological adjustment, carer distress and the effect of respite care. , 2002, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[48]  B. Tonge,et al.  The use of factor analysis for ascertaining patterns of psychopathology in children with intellectual disability. , 1996, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[49]  Eric Schopler,et al.  Social behavior in autism , 1986 .

[50]  N. Alessi,et al.  An open clinical trial of trazodone in aggressive children. , 1992, Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology.

[51]  B. Tonge,et al.  School Refusal: Assessment and Treatment , 1995 .

[52]  P. Bolton,et al.  Autism, affective and other psychiatric disorders: patterns of familial aggregation , 1998, Psychological Medicine.

[53]  S. Folstein,et al.  Affective disorders in people with autism: A review of published cases , 1994, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[54]  U. Frith,et al.  Autism and Asperger Syndrome , 1992 .

[55]  N. Bouras.  Psychiatric and behavioural disorders in developmental disabilities and mental retardation , 1999 .