Relationship between Parental Concerns about Social-Emotional Reciprocity Deficits and Their Children's Final ASD Diagnosis

• Main Authors: Ronit Saban-Bezalel (Author), Einat Avni (Author), Esther Ben-Itzchak (Author), Ditza A. Zachor (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Concerns raised by parents regarding their child's development are compatible with the child's final diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. A better understanding of the relationship between parental concerns and a final diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is therefore critical. In the current study, we compared the frequencies of parental concerns related to DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder between pair-matched groups with and without a final diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and determined which parental concerns predicted a final diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The cohort included 80 participants (48-154 months of age, IQ > 70) assessed for a possible autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Parental concerns were retrieved from the free-description portion of the introductory questions of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and analyzed to assess whether they corresponded to any of the seven DSM-5 criteria for ASD. The two groups only differed in the frequency of parental concerns relating to deficits in social-emotional reciprocity. Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder were four times as likely to report deficits in social-emotional reciprocity. This finding highlights the significance of parental concerns regarding deficits in social-emotional reciprocity in predicting a final diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

Item Description

10.3390/children10111786
2227-9067