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Associations Among Symptoms of Autism, Symptoms of Depression and Executive Functions in Children with High-Functioning Autism: A 2 Year Follow-Up Study

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Abstract

This study investigated the course of and association among changes in autism symptoms, depression symptoms and executive functions (EF) in children with high-functioning autism (HFA). Thirty-four children with HFA and 45 typically developing children (age 9–16) were assessed at baseline and after 2 years. Children with HFA had impaired scores on all measures at both time points. According to parent reports, depressive symptoms decreased over time, while EF improved and autism symptoms were stable. Children’s reports did not reveal less depressive symptoms over time. A positive association was found only between changes in autism symptoms and changes in symptoms of depression. A possible implication is that interventions aimed at either autism symptoms or symptoms of depression may improve the other.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by grants from Innlandet Hospital Trust (Grant No. 150170) and from Regional Resource Center for Autism, ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome and Narcolepsy, Oslo University Hospital (Grant Number 150182).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest with respect to authorship or publication of this article.

Ethical standard

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division Mental Health Care, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Anders Sandvigsgate 17, 2629, Lillehammer, Norway

    Per Normann Andersen, Erik Winther Skogli, Kjell Tore Hovik & Merete Øie

  2. Institute of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Per Normann Andersen, Erik Winther Skogli, Kjell Tore Hovik, Jens Egeland & Merete Øie

  3. Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway

    Jens Egeland

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  1. Per Normann Andersen
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  2. Erik Winther Skogli
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Correspondence to Per Normann Andersen.

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Since the time of the study, Erik Winther Skogli has left the University of Oslo.

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Andersen, P.N., Skogli, E.W., Hovik, K.T. et al. Associations Among Symptoms of Autism, Symptoms of Depression and Executive Functions in Children with High-Functioning Autism: A 2 Year Follow-Up Study. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 2497–2507 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2415-8

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