ERIC Number: EJ1465577
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: EISSN-1461-7005
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Clinician-Caregiver Informant Discrepancy Is Associated with Sex, Diagnosis Age, and Intervention Use among Autistic Children
Margaret A. Azu1; Gloria T. Han2; Julie M. Wolf1; Adam J. Naples1; Katarzyna Chawarska1; Geraldine Dawson3; Raphael A. Bernier4; Shafali S. Jeste5; James D. Dziura1; Sara J. Webb6; Catherine A. Sugar7; Frederick Shic6; James C. McPartland1
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v29 n3 p614-626 2025
Clinician and caregiver reports of autism features are both integral to receiving an autism diagnosis and appropriate intervention, yet informant discrepancies are present in clinical practice and may differ by demographic characteristics of the child and family. The present study examined how clinician-caregiver discrepancies in ratings of a child's autism-related behaviors relate to a child's sex at birth, age at first diagnosis, and amount of intervention received. Participants were 280 children (76.8% male, 67.9% White), 6-11 years old (M = 8.5 ± 1.6), with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Variable-centered and person-centered approaches were used to examine relationships between standardized clinician-caregiver discrepancy and participant characteristics. Both analytic approaches indicated that clinicians rated autism-related behaviors lower than caregivers for females and higher than caregivers for males. In addition, lower clinician ratings of autism features, relative to caregiver ratings, were associated with older age at diagnosis and fewer hours of intervention. Findings underscore the importance of incorporating multiple informants, especially caregivers, in the diagnostic process and developing diagnostic procedures sensitive to the female autism phenotype to facilitate diagnosis, intervention, and subsequent development.
Descriptors: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Child Behavior, Age, Sex, Intervention, Children, Individual Characteristics, Caregivers, Allied Health Personnel, Clinical Diagnosis, Diagnostic Tests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: U19MH108206
Author Affiliations: 1Yale University, USA; 2Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA; 3Duke University, USA; 4University of Washington, USA; 5Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USA; 6Seattle Children’s Research Institute, USA; 7University of California, Los Angeles, USA