title: Can the Children's Communication Checklist differentiate autism spectrum subtypes?
abstract: The study explored whether children with high functioning autism (HFA), Asperger syndrome (AS), and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) can be differentiated on the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC). The study also investigated whether empirically derived autistic subgroups can be identified with a cluster analytic method based on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. Fifty-seven children with HFA, 47 with AS, 31 with PDD-NOS, and a normal control group of 47 children between 6 and 13 years participated. Children with HFA, AS, and PDD-NOS showed pragmatic communication deficits in comparison to the controls. Little difference was found between the three subtypes with respect to their CCC profile. A three-cluster solution explained the data best. The HFA cluster showed most autism characteristics, followed by the combined HFA + AS cluster, and then the PDD-NOS cluster. The findings support the autism spectrum concept based on severity of symptom impairment rather than distinct categories.
authors: Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium. sylvie.verte@UGent.be
authors: Sylvie
authors: S
authors: Verté
authors: Hilde M
authors: HM
authors: Geurts
authors: Herbert
authors: H
authors: Roeyers
authors: Yves
authors: Y
authors: Rosseel
authors: Jaap
authors: J
authors: Oosterlaan
authors: Joseph A
authors: JA
authors: Sergeant