Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T22:49:39.440Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Timing of Parents’ Concerns Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder and its Diagnosis: A Mediation Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2018

Dunia Garrido ,
Gloria Carballo ,
Jonet Artis  and
Rocio Garcia-Retamero
Dunia Garrido*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Gloria Carballo
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Jonet Artis
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA)
Rocio Garcia-Retamero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dunia Garrido. Centro de Investigación Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento de la Universidad de Granada. Campus de Cartuja, S/N. 18071 Granada (Spain). Telephone: +34–691633482. E-mail: duniag@ugr.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Parents are the first to indicate concerns about their child’s development in up to 80% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They often notice symptoms related to ASD around the first two years, but the average age of diagnosis is 3.5 years old. This study examined the relationships between parents’ early concerns and the time lag between suspicion and diagnosis. Forty-eight Spanish-speaking families were enrolled in this study. Parents were asked about early signs that made them think that their child could possibly have ASD. Mediation analyses showed that the child’s age at suspicion mediated between sibling status and the time lag between suspicion and a formal diagnosis (β = –.53, p < .01). Having another child with typical development accelerated parents’ detection of ASD signs (β = –.62, p < .001). The number of social-communication concerns that parents detected mediated this relationship (β = –.28, p < .01). Parents who reported more social-communication concerns perceived these signs earlier, but have to cope with a longer time lag until diagnosis than those who reported more concerns related to restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests, or other developmental concerns. Moreover, this relationship between concerns of ASD and the diagnoses was explained by the child’s age. Training pediatricians on how to respond to parent questions and concerns could reduce the time lag between parents’ concerns and diagnosis of ASD.

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disordersdiagnosisparentssignal detection
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 21 , 2018 , E59
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Harding Center for Risk Literacy, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin (Germany)

We are grateful to the families who participated in this study for their continued support of our research. This research was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, PSI2014–51842–R; and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, FPU14/00723.

How to cite this article:

Garrido, D., Carballo, G., Artis, J., & Garcia-Retamero, R. (2018). Timing of parents’ concerns related to Autism Spectrum Disorder and its diagnosis: A mediation analysis. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 21. e59. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2018.64

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th Ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual-text revision (DSM–IV–TR, 2000). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Barbaro, J., & Dissanayake, C. (2009). Autism spectrum disorders in infancy and toddlerhood: A review of the evidence on early signs, early identification tools, and early diagnosis. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 30(5), 447–459. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0b013e3181ba0f9fCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Begeer, S., Mandell, D., Wijnker-Holmes, B., Venderbosch, S., Rem, D., Stekelenburg, F., & Koot, H. M. (2013). Sex differences in the timing of identification among children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(5), 1151–1156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1656-zCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chamak, B., Bonniau, B., Oudaya, L., & Ehrenberg, A. (2011). The autism diagnostic experiences of French parents. Autism, 15(1), 83–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361309354756CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Daniels, A. M., & Mandell, D. S. (2014). Explaining differences in age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis: A critical review. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 18(5), 583–597. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313480277CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network Surveillance Year 2010 Principal Investigators, & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2014). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years - Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries, 63(2), 1–21.Google Scholar
Díaz-Atienza, F., García-Pablos, C., & Martín-Romera, A. (2004). Diagnóstico precoz de los trastornos generalizados del desarrollo [Early detection of pervasive developmental disorder]. Revista de Psiquiatría y Psicología del Niño y del Adolescente, 4(2), 127–144.Google Scholar
Fortea-Sevilla, M., Escandell-Bermúdez, M., & Castro-Sánchez, J. J. (2013). Detección temprana del autismo: Profesionales implicados. [Early ASD detection: Professionals involved]. Revista Española De Salud Pública, 87(2), 191–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fountain, C., King, M. D., & Bearman, P. S. (2011). Age of diagnosis for autism: Individual and community factors across 10 birth cohorts. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 65(6), 503–510. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2009.104588CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guilliam, J. E. (2004). Guilliam Autism Rating Scale. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Guinchat, V., Chamak, B., Bonniau, B., Bodeau, N., Perisse, D., Cohen, D., & Danion, A. (2012). Very early signs of autism reported by parents include many concerns not specific to autism criteria. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(2), 589–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2011.10.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herlihy, L., Knoch, K., Vibert, B., & Fein, D. (2015). Parents’ first concerns about toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: Effect of sibling status. Autism, 19(1), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313509731CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kishore, M. T., & Basu, A. (2011). Early concerns of mothers of children later diagnosed with autism: Implications for early identification. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(1), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2010.03.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klin, A., Klaiman, C., & Jones, W. (2015). Rebajar la edad de diagnóstico del autismo: La neurociencia del desarrollo social afronta un importante problema de salud pública [Reducing age of autism diagnosis: Developmental social neuroscience meets public health challenge]. Revista de Neurologia, 60(Supl.1), S3–S11.Google Scholar
Le Couteur, A., Lord, C., & Rutter, M. (2003). The autism diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.Google Scholar
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., & Risi, S. (2002). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-WPS (ADOS-WPS). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.Google Scholar
Maestro, S., Muratori, F., Cesari, A., Cavallaro, M. C., Paziente, A., Pecini, C., … Sommario, C. (2005). Course of autism signs in the first year of life. Psychopathology, 38(1), 26–31. https://doi.org/10.1159/000083967CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mandell, D. S., Novak, M. M., & Zubritsky, C. D. (2005). Factors associated with age of diagnosis among children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics, 116(6), 1480–1486. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0185CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meek, S. E., Robinson, L. T., & Jahromi, L. B. (2012). Parent–child predictors of social competence with peers in children with and without autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(2), 815–823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2011.11.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishaal, R. A., Ben-Itzchak, E., & Zachor, D. A. (2014). Age of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis is associated with child’s variables and parental experience. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8(7), 873–880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2014.04.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monteiro, S. A., Spinks-Franklin, A., Treadwell-Deering, D., Berry, L., Sellers-Vinson, S., Smith, E., … Voigt, R. G. (2015). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in children referred for diagnostic autism evaluation. Clinical Pediatrics, 54(14), 1322–1327. https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922815592607CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mooney, E. L., Gray, K. M., & Tonge, B. J. (2006). Early features of autism: Repetitive behaviors in young children. European Journal of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 15(12), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-0499-6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pozo, P., & Sarria, E. (2014). Prediction of stress in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 17, E6. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2014.6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenberg, R. E., Landa, R., Law, J. K., Stuart, E. A., & Law, P. A. (2011). Factors affecting age at initial autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in a national survey. Autism Research and Treatment, 2011, ID 874619. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/874619CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salomone, E., Charman, T., McConachie, H., & Warreyn, P. (2016). Child’s verbal ability and gender are associated with age at diagnosis in a sample of young children with ASD in Europe. Child: Care, Health and Development, 42(1), 141–145. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12261Google Scholar
Shattuck, P. T., Durkin, M., Maenner, M., Newschaffer, C., Mandell, D. S., Wiggins, L., … Cuniff, C. (2009). Timing of identification among children with an autism spectrum disorder: Findings from a population-based surveillance study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(5), 474–483. https://doi.org/10.1097/CHI.0b013e31819b3848CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Volkmar, F. R., Chawarska, K., & Klin, A. (2008). Autism spectrum disorders in infants and toddlers: An introduction. In Chawarska, K., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. R. (Eds.), Autism spectrum disorders in infants and toddlers: Diagnosis, assessment and intervention (pp. 1–22). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Zuckerman, K. E., Lindly, O. J., & Sinche, B. K. (2015). Parental concerns, provider response, and timeliness of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. The Journal of Pediatrics, 166(6), 1431–1439. e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.03.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., Rogers, T., Roberts, W., Brian, J., & Szatmari, P. (2005). Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23(2), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2004.05.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed