Early Development Score as a Prognostic Factor in Nonverbal/Minimally Verbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Matched Case-Control Study in Cyprus
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| Title: | Early Development Score as a Prognostic Factor in Nonverbal/Minimally Verbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Matched Case-Control Study in Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Margarita Kilili-Lesta (ORCID |
| Source: | Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. 2024 9. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 13 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Junior High Schools Middle Schools Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Prognostic Tests, Educational Testing, Nonverbal Communication, Verbal Ability, Nonverbal Learning, Preschool Children, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Perinatal Influences, Heredity, Individual Development, Developmental Delays, Delayed Speech, Motor Development, At Risk Students, Early Intervention |
| Geographic Terms: | Cyprus |
| DOI: | 10.1177/23969415241286403 |
| ISSN: | 2396-9415 |
| Abstract: | Background and Aims: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with impairments in social interaction and stereotypic behaviors. About a third may exhibit delays in verbal expression beyond preschool age, potentially categorizing them as nonverbal/minimally verbal (NV/MV), a condition that can persist into adulthood and affect their quality of life. The risk and prognostic factors associated with this reduced verbal outcome remain uncertain. This study aims to identify such factors within children diagnosed with ASD in Cyprus. Methods: In this case-control study, 56 children aged 3-12 years, with an ASD diagnosis, participated. Among them, cases were 22 children classified as ASD-NV/MV, and controls were 34 children classified as verbal (ASD-V), matched by age group and gender. Retrospective information on familial, perinatal, and developmental risk and prognostic factors were collected to calculate the familial risk score (FRS), perinatal risk score (PRS), and developmental risk score (DRS). Early development information was collected for the Early Development Score (EDS) and Early Gesture Score (EGS), to measure the children's skill level as toddlers across milestones. A low EDS and/or low EGS reflected general developmental delays and decreased frequency of early gestures and were considered in the DRS. A parent report questionnaire was utilized to determine the current overall linguistic level and status of participants, distinguishing cases from controls. Results: Age group and gender-matched cases and controls were similar in socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics (p > 0.05). Among the various familial (e.g., sibling with ASD), perinatal (e.g., prematurity), and developmental (e.g., ASD regression) factors examined individually, as well as collectively as scores in a conditional logistic regression (CLR) model, only a high DRS (p = 0.03), due to low EDS (p = 0.04) was significantly associated with linguistic status. When considering all risk scores in a multivariate CLR model, children with a high DRS were more likely to belong to the cases than to the control group (p = 0.02). In a subsequent model with low EDS and low EGS, only the low EDS was significantly associated with the case group. Results showed that children with ASD and a low EDS, reflecting general delays in early development, were 4.5 times more likely to belong to the cases group than those with a high EDS (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Early developmental delays in developmental milestones across various domains like gesture, motor, play, linguistic, cognition, and joint attention, in toddlerhood, were associated with later decreased verbal outcomes. Children in the sample with such early delays (low EDS), had a higher likelihood of persistent language delays (ASD-NV/MV) even at late school age. Future studies are needed to duplicate findings and explore possible contributing factors affecting linguistic outcome in ASD through prospective studies exploring within ASD differences. Implications: These findings emphasized the importance of monitoring early development closely for children at risk for ASD, pre-diagnosis, to provide additional early support for those more likely to be ASD-NV/MV. Parents and specialists like pediatricians, educators, speech-language pathologists, among others, can track the EDS score of children at risk for ASD and refer to the appropriate specialists for early stimulation, intervention, and parent consultation promptly. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1455317 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: EJ1455317 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Early Development Score as a Prognostic Factor in Nonverbal/Minimally Verbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Matched Case-Control Study in Cyprus – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Margarita+Kilili-Lesta%22">Margarita Kilili-Lesta</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4611-8875">0000-0003-4611-8875</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Konstantinos+Giannakou%22">Konstantinos Giannakou</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Louiza+Voniati%22">Louiza Voniati</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Autism+%26+Developmental+Language+Impairments%22"><i>Autism & Developmental Language Impairments</i></searchLink>. 2024 9. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 13 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2024 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research – Name: Audience Label: Education Level Group: Audnce Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Junior+High+Schools%22">Junior High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autism+Spectrum+Disorders%22">Autism Spectrum Disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prognostic+Tests%22">Prognostic Tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Testing%22">Educational Testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nonverbal+Communication%22">Nonverbal Communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Verbal+Ability%22">Verbal Ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nonverbal+Learning%22">Nonverbal Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+Children%22">Preschool Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+School+Students%22">Elementary School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+School+Students%22">Middle School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Perinatal+Influences%22">Perinatal Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heredity%22">Heredity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Individual+Development%22">Individual Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Developmental+Delays%22">Developmental Delays</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Delayed+Speech%22">Delayed Speech</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motor+Development%22">Motor Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22At+Risk+Students%22">At Risk Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Intervention%22">Early Intervention</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cyprus%22">Cyprus</searchLink> – Name: DOI Label: DOI Group: ID Data: 10.1177/23969415241286403 – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 2396-9415 – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Background and Aims: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with impairments in social interaction and stereotypic behaviors. About a third may exhibit delays in verbal expression beyond preschool age, potentially categorizing them as nonverbal/minimally verbal (NV/MV), a condition that can persist into adulthood and affect their quality of life. The risk and prognostic factors associated with this reduced verbal outcome remain uncertain. This study aims to identify such factors within children diagnosed with ASD in Cyprus. Methods: In this case-control study, 56 children aged 3-12 years, with an ASD diagnosis, participated. Among them, cases were 22 children classified as ASD-NV/MV, and controls were 34 children classified as verbal (ASD-V), matched by age group and gender. Retrospective information on familial, perinatal, and developmental risk and prognostic factors were collected to calculate the familial risk score (FRS), perinatal risk score (PRS), and developmental risk score (DRS). Early development information was collected for the Early Development Score (EDS) and Early Gesture Score (EGS), to measure the children's skill level as toddlers across milestones. A low EDS and/or low EGS reflected general developmental delays and decreased frequency of early gestures and were considered in the DRS. A parent report questionnaire was utilized to determine the current overall linguistic level and status of participants, distinguishing cases from controls. Results: Age group and gender-matched cases and controls were similar in socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics (p > 0.05). Among the various familial (e.g., sibling with ASD), perinatal (e.g., prematurity), and developmental (e.g., ASD regression) factors examined individually, as well as collectively as scores in a conditional logistic regression (CLR) model, only a high DRS (p = 0.03), due to low EDS (p = 0.04) was significantly associated with linguistic status. When considering all risk scores in a multivariate CLR model, children with a high DRS were more likely to belong to the cases than to the control group (p = 0.02). In a subsequent model with low EDS and low EGS, only the low EDS was significantly associated with the case group. Results showed that children with ASD and a low EDS, reflecting general delays in early development, were 4.5 times more likely to belong to the cases group than those with a high EDS (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Early developmental delays in developmental milestones across various domains like gesture, motor, play, linguistic, cognition, and joint attention, in toddlerhood, were associated with later decreased verbal outcomes. Children in the sample with such early delays (low EDS), had a higher likelihood of persistent language delays (ASD-NV/MV) even at late school age. Future studies are needed to duplicate findings and explore possible contributing factors affecting linguistic outcome in ASD through prospective studies exploring within ASD differences. Implications: These findings emphasized the importance of monitoring early development closely for children at risk for ASD, pre-diagnosis, to provide additional early support for those more likely to be ASD-NV/MV. Parents and specialists like pediatricians, educators, speech-language pathologists, among others, can track the EDS score of children at risk for ASD and refer to the appropriate specialists for early stimulation, intervention, and parent consultation promptly. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2025 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1455317 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1455317 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1177/23969415241286403 Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 13 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries Type: general – SubjectFull: Autism Spectrum Disorders Type: general – SubjectFull: Prognostic Tests Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Testing Type: general – SubjectFull: Nonverbal Communication Type: general – SubjectFull: Verbal Ability Type: general – SubjectFull: Nonverbal Learning Type: general – SubjectFull: Preschool Children Type: general – SubjectFull: Elementary School Students Type: general – SubjectFull: Middle School Students Type: general – SubjectFull: Perinatal Influences Type: general – SubjectFull: Heredity Type: general – SubjectFull: Individual Development Type: general – SubjectFull: Developmental Delays Type: general – SubjectFull: Delayed Speech Type: general – SubjectFull: Motor Development Type: general – SubjectFull: At Risk Students Type: general – SubjectFull: Early Intervention Type: general – SubjectFull: Cyprus Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Early Development Score as a Prognostic Factor in Nonverbal/Minimally Verbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Matched Case-Control Study in Cyprus Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Margarita Kilili-Lesta – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Konstantinos Giannakou – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Louiza Voniati IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2024 Identifiers: – Type: issn-electronic Value: 2396-9415 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 9 Titles: – TitleFull: Autism & Developmental Language Impairments Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
