Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis

Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are at risk for additional autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A large amount of research reveals deficits in emotion-related processes that are relevant to social cognition in ASD. However, studies on the structure and level of emotional development (ED) a...

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Main Authors: Sappok, T., Budczies, J., Bolte, Sven, Dziobek, I., Dosen, A., Diefenbacher, A.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Public Library of Science 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/63271
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author Sappok, T.
Budczies, J.
Bolte, Sven
Dziobek, I.
Dosen, A.
Diefenbacher, A.
author_facet Sappok, T.
Budczies, J.
Bolte, Sven
Dziobek, I.
Dosen, A.
Diefenbacher, A.
author_sort Sappok, T.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are at risk for additional autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A large amount of research reveals deficits in emotion-related processes that are relevant to social cognition in ASD. However, studies on the structure and level of emotional development (ED) assessing emotional maturity according to the normative trajectory in typically developing children are scares. The level of ED can be evaluated by the 'Scheme of Appraisal of Emotional Development' (SAED), a semi-structured interview with a close caregiver. The SAED assesses the level of emotional developmental based on a five stage system in 10 domains, for example, 'interaction with peers' or 'object permanence', which are conducive to the overall emotional developmental level. This study examined the ED as measured by the SAED in 289 adults (mean age: 36 years) with ID with and without additional ASD. A lower level in ED was observed in ASD/ID combined that corresponded to the ED of typically developing children aged 1.5-3 years versus an ED with a corresponding age of 3-7 years in ID individuals without ASD. Moreover, distinct strengths in 'object permanence', and weaknesses in 'interaction', 'verbal communication', 'experience of self', 'affect differentiation', 'anxiety', and 'handling of material objects' led to a characteristic pattern of ED in ASD. SAED domains with highest discriminative power between ID individuals with and without ASD (5/10) were used to predict ASD group membership. The classification using a selection of SAED domains revealed a sensitivity of 77.5% and a specificity of 76.4%. ASD risk increased 2.7-fold with every SAED level. The recognition of delayed and uneven pattern of ED contributes to our understanding of the emotion-related impairments in adults with ID and ASD these individuals. Assessment of intra-individual ED could add value to the standard diagnostic procedures in ID, a population at risk for underdiagnosed ASD. © 2013 Sappok et al.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-632712018-02-06T06:23:30Z Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis Sappok, T. Budczies, J. Bolte, Sven Dziobek, I. Dosen, A. Diefenbacher, A. Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are at risk for additional autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A large amount of research reveals deficits in emotion-related processes that are relevant to social cognition in ASD. However, studies on the structure and level of emotional development (ED) assessing emotional maturity according to the normative trajectory in typically developing children are scares. The level of ED can be evaluated by the 'Scheme of Appraisal of Emotional Development' (SAED), a semi-structured interview with a close caregiver. The SAED assesses the level of emotional developmental based on a five stage system in 10 domains, for example, 'interaction with peers' or 'object permanence', which are conducive to the overall emotional developmental level. This study examined the ED as measured by the SAED in 289 adults (mean age: 36 years) with ID with and without additional ASD. A lower level in ED was observed in ASD/ID combined that corresponded to the ED of typically developing children aged 1.5-3 years versus an ED with a corresponding age of 3-7 years in ID individuals without ASD. Moreover, distinct strengths in 'object permanence', and weaknesses in 'interaction', 'verbal communication', 'experience of self', 'affect differentiation', 'anxiety', and 'handling of material objects' led to a characteristic pattern of ED in ASD. SAED domains with highest discriminative power between ID individuals with and without ASD (5/10) were used to predict ASD group membership. The classification using a selection of SAED domains revealed a sensitivity of 77.5% and a specificity of 76.4%. ASD risk increased 2.7-fold with every SAED level. The recognition of delayed and uneven pattern of ED contributes to our understanding of the emotion-related impairments in adults with ID and ASD these individuals. Assessment of intra-individual ED could add value to the standard diagnostic procedures in ID, a population at risk for underdiagnosed ASD. © 2013 Sappok et al. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/63271 10.1371/journal.pone.0074036 Public Library of Science unknown
spellingShingle Sappok, T.
Budczies, J.
Bolte, Sven
Dziobek, I.
Dosen, A.
Diefenbacher, A.
Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis
title Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis
title_full Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis
title_fullStr Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis
title_short Emotional Development in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective, Clinical Analysis
title_sort emotional development in adults with autism and intellectual disabilities: a retrospective, clinical analysis
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/63271