Adaptive functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder: Impact of symptoms and behavioral and emotional problems

Introduction. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present more difficulties in adaptive functioning than children with typical development, probably due to the symptoms of the disorder. However, recent studies suggest a multifactorial implication in adaptive deficits, although more research is needed to identify the most important factors. Aims. 1) Examine the differences in the adaptive functioning profile of children with ASD and children with typical development (TD); 2) Study in children with ASD the relationship between adaptive skills and the nuclear symptomatology of autism along with behavioral and emotional problems. Method. Participants were 87 children (52 with a diagnosis of high functioning ASD and 36 with typical development) between 7 and 11 years matched in age and cognitive ability. The Vineland-II scale and the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) were completed. In addition, the dimensional scores of criteria A and B of the DSM- 5 were used to assess the symptomatology of ASD. Results. Significant differences were observed between both groups in all vineland domains. Regression analyzes revealed that socio-communicative difficulties had a greater impact on the adaptive functioning of children with ASD, although behavioral problems also explained dysfunctions in the Vineland social skills sub-domain. Conclusions. Our findings indicate that socio-communicative deficits have greater predictive power to explain adaptive difficulties than repetitive and stereotyped behavior patterns in children with high-functioning ASD