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Adaptive Behaviors in High-Functioning Taiwanese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: an Investigation of the Mediating Roles of Symptom Severity and Cognitive Ability

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Abstract

We investigated the relationship among cognitive level, autistic severity and adaptive function in a Taiwanese sample of 94 high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (mean full scale intelligent quotients FSIQ = 84.8). Parents and teachers both completed the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II and the Social Responsiveness Scale. Correlational and regression analyses were used to explore the relationships among the constructs of cognitive, symptomatic and adaptive domains. Results revealed that average General Adaptive Composites of these children (home: 74.0; school: 74.6) was below average FSIQ. Profile analysis revealed that Social domain was the weakness among the adaptive abilities assessed at school and home. Cognitive abilities had positive relationship with adaptive function, while autistic severity had a weak negative relationship with adaptive function. Also, the younger the age the child got diagnosed, the less severe the current symptoms of autism were. The implication for emphasizing adaptive skills intervention was discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the help from the Statistical Analysis Laboratory, Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Chen-Lin Chang & Cheng-Fang Yen

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Chen-Lin Chang

  3. Taipei City Psychiatric Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan

    For-Wey Lung

  4. Department of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan

    For-Wey Lung

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100, Shin-Chuan 1st Rd, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan

    Cheng-Fang Yen & Pinchen Yang

  6. Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Cheng-Fang Yen & Pinchen Yang

  7. Department of Nursing, College of Health & Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan

    Chen-Lin Chang

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  1. Chen-Lin Chang
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  2. For-Wey Lung
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  3. Cheng-Fang Yen
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Correspondence to Pinchen Yang.

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Chang, CL., Lung, FW., Yen, CF. et al. Adaptive Behaviors in High-Functioning Taiwanese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: an Investigation of the Mediating Roles of Symptom Severity and Cognitive Ability. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 1347–1355 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1684-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1684-8

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