Department of Health and Rehabilitation Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, 00-183 Warsaw, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Oct 12;18(20):10684. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182010684.
: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may coexist with Down syndrome (DS). Most studies on this topic involve school-age children, adolescents, or adults with DS. This study looked at ASD symptoms, other mental health problems, and challenging behaviors in toddlers with DS at low risk of ASD. : We used screening tools for autism in toddlers; BISCUIT-Parts 1-3 and Q-CHAT. We compared four groups of children aged 17-37 months: DS, ASD, Atypical Development (AD), and Typically Developing (TD). : Children with DS showed lower symptoms of ASD than children with ASD (without DS) and higher than TD children, except for repetitive behaviors/restricted interests. For comorbid mental health problems and difficult behaviors, children with DS scored lower than children with ASD. There were no differences between children with DS and TD children in this regard. : The study results indicate that BISCUIT-Parts 1-3 are valid instruments to differentiate toddlers with DS from toddlers with ASD. However, they also show that toddlers with DS at low ASD risk are a very heterogeneous group when the ASD symptoms are considered. Autistic characteristics should be taken into account in supporting young children with this genetic condition.
自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)可能与唐氏综合征(DS)共存。大多数关于这个主题的研究都涉及到患有 DS 的学龄儿童、青少年或成年人。本研究观察了低 ASD 风险的 DS 幼儿的 ASD 症状、其他心理健康问题和挑战性行为。
我们使用了用于幼儿自闭症的筛查工具;BISCUIT-Parts 1-3 和 Q-CHAT。我们比较了四个年龄在 17-37 个月的儿童组:DS、ASD、非典型发育(AD)和典型发育(TD)。
DS 儿童的 ASD 症状比 ASD(无 DS)儿童低,比 TD 儿童高,但重复行为/受限兴趣除外。对于共患的心理健康问题和困难行为,DS 儿童的得分低于 ASD 儿童。在这方面,DS 儿童与 TD 儿童之间没有差异。
研究结果表明,BISCUIT-Parts 1-3 是区分 ASD 与 DS 幼儿的有效工具。然而,它们也表明,低 ASD 风险的 DS 幼儿在考虑 ASD 症状时是一个非常异质的群体。在支持患有这种遗传疾病的幼儿时,应考虑到自闭症特征。