Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2020

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Communicative Disorders

Degree Program

Communicative Disorders, MS

Committee Chair

Pitts, Teresa

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Smith, Alan

Committee Member

Smith, Alan

Committee Member

Mattingly, Rhonda

Author's Keywords

adaptive behavior; autism spectrum disorder; speech and language; daily living skills; communication disorders; speech therapy

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that consists of difficulties with social communication and language, as well as the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors. These deficits tend to present in early childhood and usually lead to impairments in functioning across various settings. Moreover, these deficits have been shown to negatively impact adaptive behavior and functioning. Thus, early diagnosis and intervention is vital for future success within this population. The purpose of this study was to further examine the subscales that comprise the adaptive behavior section of the Bayley-III to determine which of the ten subscales are predictive of ASD in young children (i.e., ≤ three years-of-age). A retrospective file review of 273 children participating in Kentucky’s early intervention program, First Steps, was completed. The children ranged in age from 18-35 months. A binary logistic regression was used to assess the subscales that comprise the adaptive behavior of the section of the Bayley-III to determine which of the ten subscales are predictive of ASD in young children (i.e., ≤ three years-of-age). The results indicated that individual lower raw scores in communication, community use, functional pre-academics, home living, health and safety, leisure, self-care, self-direction, and social subscales were predictive of an autism diagnosis.

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