TITLE:
Global Functional Performance and Caregiver Assistance in Autism and Asperger Syndrome
AUTHORS:
Michele Gea Guimarães Pozzato, Thais Soares Cianciarullo Minett, Marcelo Rodrigues Masruha, Luiz Celso Pereira Vilanova
KEYWORDS:
Autistic Disorder; Asperger Syndrome; Child Development; Caregivers
JOURNAL NAME:
Neuroscience and Medicine,
Vol.5 No.1,
March
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Autism and
Asperger’s syndrome belong to a family of neuro-developmental disorders called
Pervasive Development Disorders. The aims of this study were to 1) quantify the
overall functional performance and need for caregiver assistance in autism (A)
and Asperger’s syndrome (AS), 2) compare the findings between groups and to
normative data from Brazilian children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was
carried out involving 52 children between three and eight years of age
diagnosed with either A (n = 26) or SA (n = 26). The Brazilian version of the Pediatric
Evaluation of Disability Inventory was administered. Results: The children with
A and AS achieved significantly lower scores than that expected for normality.
The children with AS had a significantly better social function than that the children with A had. However, those with A achieved significantly
better scores than those with AS on activities related to self-care and
mobility, requiring less assistance. Conclusion: While patients with AS are
better at social interaction than typical autistic children, they exhibit
greater deficits with regard to basic tasks, such as self-care and mobility,
requiring greater assistance than children with A.