Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) facilitates access to interventions that improve outcomes for children and families. Understanding developmental and behavioral manifestations of symptoms and competencies improves early diagnosis. The authors illustrate the benefits of using the ZERO TO THREE "DC:0-5™: Diagnostic…

This article presents a description of the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3; Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Saulnier, 2016), published by Pearson, which is a newly updated individually administered measure of adaptive functioning for individuals from birth to age 90. Primarily used in clinical, psychoeducational, and…

'High functioning autism' is a term often used for individuals with autism spectrum disorder without an intellectual disability. Over time, this term has become synonymous with expectations of greater functional skills and better long-term outcomes, despite contradictory clinical observations. This study investigated the relationship between…

This list of tools was compiled to assist states and programs with identifying assessments that can be administered when the assessor cannot be in the room with the child. Those using this resource are encouraged to review the recent presentations about applying assessment principles to evaluation for eligibility remotely for Part C and Part B…

We contrasted Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition--Parent Rating Scales--Preschool Form (BASC-2 PRS-P) parent ratings for 242 (52% African American; 39% White) preschool-aged children from three diagnostic groups: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), and ASD and ID (ASD/ID). Across diagnostic groups,…

Unusual responses to sensory stimuli have been described in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).The study examined the frequencies of "unusual sensory interests" and "negative sensory responses" and their relation to functioning in a large ASD population (n = 679). Having "unusual sensory interests" was reported in 70.4%…

A gap exists in the literature regarding aggression in autism spectrum disorders and how this behavior compares to other groups. In this multisite study, the "Children's Scale for Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive" and the Aggression subscale of the "Child Behavior Checklist" were rated for 414 children with autism…

The present quasi-experimental study examines the outcomes for a group of 102 children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder at age 2 who attended an inclusive toddler program (described by Stahmer and Ingersoll, 2004) until age 3. Outcomes on standardized developmental assessments indicate significant improvement, with large effect sizes, in…

Three studies examine the validity of the Preschool Form of the Cognitive Abilities Scale--Second Edition (CAS-2). Significant high concurrent criterion-related validity correlations, corrected for restricted range, are found between the CAS-2 and the Detroit Test of Learning Ability--Primary: Third Edition for 26 three-year-olds (r[subscript c] =…

This study was a follow-up of a group of 29 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders at age 2 who attended an inclusive toddler program until age 3. Children ranged in age from 4 to 12 years at the time of the parent survey and follow-up testing. The majority of children were placed in a special education (noninclusive) preschool class,…

This study examines the early neurodevelopmental function of infants and preschool children who have chronic kidney disease (CKD). Fifteen patients with CKD are compared to a healthy control group using the "Mullen Scales of Early Learning" (MSEL) and the "Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale" (VABS). Multivariate analysis reveals…

A systematic literature search for studies reporting effects of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention identified 34 studies, 9 of which were controlled designs having either a comparison or a control group. We completed a meta-analysis yielding a standardized mean difference effect size for two available outcome measures: change in full-scale…

To examine the proportion of variance in adaptive functioning predictable from mental ability, chronological age, I.Q., evidence of brain malfunction, seizure medication, and receptive and expressive language scores, 25 severely and profoundly retarded institutionalized persons (2-19 years old) were administered the Bayley Infant Scale Mental…

Preschool-age children who are experiencing delays in physical, cognitive, communication, social, emotional, or adaptive development are often referred for a comprehensive assessment to make diagnostic determinations and to help develop appropriate interventions. Typically cognitive assessment has a key role in a comprehensive evaluation of a…