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| Correlation between severity of symptoms and overall development level of children with autism spectrum disorder at different ages |
| LI Chunli, SHAN Ling, LI Honghua, ZHAO Weiyan, JIA Feiyong |
| Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China |
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Abstract Objective To investigate the association between the severity of symptoms and overall development level of children with autism spectrum disorder （ASD）at different ages. Methods A total of 503 children （2 groups including 272 ≤3 years old and 231 >3 years old）first diagnosed as ASD from May 2016 to May 2019 were enrolled. The core symptoms of ASD were assessed by autism behavior scale （ABC）and childhood autism rating scale （CARS）. The Chinese version ofthe Gesell developmental schedule （GDS）was used to test the development of quotient （DQ）. Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s correlation analysis were performed for statistical analyses. Results There was no significant difference in the total ABC score between the two groups. The total CARS score of the >3 years old group was significantly lower than that of the ≤3 years old group （P<0.05）. There was significant difference in the distribution of personal social DQ between thetwo groups（P<0.05）. The CARS score of all enrolled children was negatively correlated with DQ of adaptive performance
（r=-0.095, P<0.05）and language（ r=-0.141, P<0.05）. The total ABC score was negatively correlated with DQ of adaptive performance in the ≤3 years old group （r=-0.137, P<0.05）and negatively correlated with DQ of language in the >3 years old group （r=-0.181, P<0.01）. Conclusion Children with an older age at diagnosis have mild ASD symptoms and an even worse personal-social ability. The correlation between symptom severity and developmental level of children with ASD at different ages is different. Under 3 years old, the children who have poor adaptability DQ are associated with severer symptoms. Older than 3 years old, the children who have poor language DQ are associated with severer symptoms.
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