title: Classifying Autism Spectrum Disorders by ADI-R: Subtypes or Severity Gradient?
abstract: To reduce phenotypic heterogeneity of Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and add to the current diagnostic discussion this study aimed at identifying clinically meaningful ASD subgroups. Cluster analyses were used to describe empirically derived groups based on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-revised (ADI-R) in a large sample of n = 463 individuals with ASD aged 3-21. Three clusters were observed. Most severely affected individuals regarding all core symptoms were allocated to cluster 2. Cluster 3 comprised moderate symptom severity of social communication impairments (SCI) and less stereotyped repetitive behavior (RRB). Minor SCI and relatively more RRB characterized cluster 1. This study offers support for both, a symptom profile, and a gradient model of ASD within the spectrum due to the sample included.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, JW Goethe University Hospital, Deutschordenstraße 50, 60528, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany. Hannah.Cholemkery@kgu.de.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cholemkery
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, JW Goethe University Hospital, Deutschordenstraße 50, 60528, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Medda
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, JW Goethe University Hospital, Deutschordenstraße 50, 60528, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lempp
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, JW Goethe University Hospital, Deutschordenstraße 50, 60528, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Freitag
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autism Diagnostic Interview-revised; Autism spectrum disorder; Cluster analysis; DSM-5; Diagnosis; Psychometric assessment