Article

This study examined the utility of standard autism diagnostic measures in
nine children (aged 5-9y) with severe vision impairment and a range of social and
language functioning.
METHOD: The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
and the Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised (ADI-R) were systematically modified
and used to assess symptoms of autism in children with vision less than or equal
to 20/800, the majority of whom had optic nerve hypoplasia.
The results of the
assessments, including analysis of symptom patterns, were compared with expert
autism diagnoses. RESULTS: Modified autism measures demonstrated good agreement
with clinical diagnoses. Symptoms found to be most and least reliable in
discriminating autism from behaviors common to most children with congenital
vision impairment are described. Comparisons of current behavior with
parent-reported behaviors from a younger age suggested that some symptoms of
autism in very young children who are congenitally blind may improve with age.
INTERPRETATION: The ADOS and ADI-R are useful for clinical assessment and for
advancing research efforts to understand autism symptoms in children with vision
impairment. However, some autistic symptoms in very young children may change
over time, and developmental changes should be closely monitored.
CI - (c) 2013 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS