title: From lumping to splitting and back again: atypical social and language development in individuals with clinical-high-risk for psychosis, first episode schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Individuals with autism and schizophrenia exhibit atypical language and social symptoms. The extent to which these symptoms are evident during development and in current functioning is unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three groups of patients aged 11-20 diagnosed as clinical-high-risk for psychosis (CHR; n=15), first episode psychosis (FEP; n=16), and autism spectrum disorders (ASD; n=20), plus typically developing individuals (TYP; n=20) were compared on common autism parent-report questionnaires assessing social and language development and current functioning including the Social Communication Questionnaire, the Children's Communication Checklist, and the Social Reciprocity Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All clinical groups demonstrated atypical social and language development, with social impairment highest in ASD. Twenty percent of participants with CHR and FEP met diagnostic criteria for ASD as assessed by parent-report. ASD exhibited greater current syntactic, and pragmatic language symptoms including delayed echolalia, pedantic speech, and deficits in appreciating irony and sarcasm. All clinical groups exhibited current deficits in social functioning. CHR and FE had similar and intermediate levels of functioning relative to ASD and TYP, with CHR generally scoring closer to TYP, providing construct validity for the CHR diagnostic label.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggest that ASDs, CHR, and FEP share common features of atypical neurodevelopment of language and social function. Evidence of impaired social reciprocity across both disorders and distinct language symptoms in ASDs provides important information for differential diagnosis and psychosis prevention, as well as leads for future investigations of comparative genetics and pathophysiology.
authors: U.C. Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 2230 Stockton Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. marjorie.solomon@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
authors: Marjorie
authors: M
authors: Solomon
authors: Emily
authors: E
authors: Olsen
authors: Tara
authors: T
authors: Niendam
authors: J Daniel
authors: JD
authors: Ragland
authors: Jong
authors: J
authors: Yoon
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Minzenberg
authors: Cameron S
authors: CS
authors: Carter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications*; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult