Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index
Abstract Background Qualitatively atypical language development characterized by non-sequential skill acquisition within a developmental domain, which has been called developmental deviance or difference, is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We developed the Response Dispers...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
BMC
2019-09-01
|
Series: | Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s11689-019-9283-z |
id |
doaj-79a28877a4224efc9d5e90aeb689c24a |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-79a28877a4224efc9d5e90aeb689c24a2020-11-25T03:31:03ZengBMCJournal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders1866-19471866-19552019-09-0111111310.1186/s11689-019-9283-zWithin-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion IndexAbby E. Hare-Harris0Marissa W. Mitchel1Scott M. Myers2Aaron D. Mitchel3Brian R. King4Brittany G. Ruocco5Christa Lese Martin6Judy F. Flax7Linda M. Brzustowicz8Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, Hartline Science Center, Bloomsburg UniversityAutism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health SystemAutism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health SystemPsychology Department, O’Leary Center, Bucknell UniversityComputer Science Department, Breakiron Building, Bucknell UniversityGenetics Department, Life Sciences Building, Rutgers UniversityAutism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health SystemGenetics Department, Life Sciences Building, Rutgers UniversityGenetics Department, Life Sciences Building, Rutgers UniversityAbstract Background Qualitatively atypical language development characterized by non-sequential skill acquisition within a developmental domain, which has been called developmental deviance or difference, is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We developed the Response Dispersion Index (RDI), a measure of this phenomenon based on intra-subtest scatter of item responses on standardized psychometric assessments, to assess the within-task variability among individuals with language impairment (LI) and/or ASD. Methods Standard clinical assessments of language were administered to 502 individuals from the New Jersey Language and Autism Genetics Study (NJLAGS) cohort. Participants were divided into four diagnostic groups: unaffected, ASD-only, LI-only, and ASD + LI. For each language measure, RDI was defined as the product of the total number of test items and the sum of the weight (based on item difficulty) of test items missed. Group differences in RDI were assessed, and the relationship between RDI and ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI was investigated for each language assessment. Results Although standard scores were unable to distinguish the LI-only and ASD/ASD + LI groups, the ASD/ASD + LI groups had higher RDI scores compared to LI-only group across all measures of expressive, pragmatic, and metalinguistic language. RDI was positively correlated with quantitative ASD traits across all subgroups and was an effective predictor of ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI. Conclusions The RDI is an effective quantitative metric of developmental deviance/difference that correlates with ASD traits, supporting previous associations between ASD and non-sequential skill acquisition. The RDI can be adapted to other clinical measures to investigate the degree of difference that is not captured by standard performance summary scores.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s11689-019-9283-zDevelopmental differenceAutism spectrum disorderLanguage impairmentIntra-subtest scatter |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Abby E. Hare-Harris Marissa W. Mitchel Scott M. Myers Aaron D. Mitchel Brian R. King Brittany G. Ruocco Christa Lese Martin Judy F. Flax Linda M. Brzustowicz |
spellingShingle |
Abby E. Hare-Harris Marissa W. Mitchel Scott M. Myers Aaron D. Mitchel Brian R. King Brittany G. Ruocco Christa Lese Martin Judy F. Flax Linda M. Brzustowicz Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Developmental difference Autism spectrum disorder Language impairment Intra-subtest scatter |
author_facet |
Abby E. Hare-Harris Marissa W. Mitchel Scott M. Myers Aaron D. Mitchel Brian R. King Brittany G. Ruocco Christa Lese Martin Judy F. Flax Linda M. Brzustowicz |
author_sort |
Abby E. Hare-Harris |
title |
Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index |
title_short |
Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index |
title_full |
Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index |
title_fullStr |
Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index |
title_full_unstemmed |
Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index |
title_sort |
within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the response dispersion index |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders |
issn |
1866-1947 1866-1955 |
publishDate |
2019-09-01 |
description |
Abstract Background Qualitatively atypical language development characterized by non-sequential skill acquisition within a developmental domain, which has been called developmental deviance or difference, is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We developed the Response Dispersion Index (RDI), a measure of this phenomenon based on intra-subtest scatter of item responses on standardized psychometric assessments, to assess the within-task variability among individuals with language impairment (LI) and/or ASD. Methods Standard clinical assessments of language were administered to 502 individuals from the New Jersey Language and Autism Genetics Study (NJLAGS) cohort. Participants were divided into four diagnostic groups: unaffected, ASD-only, LI-only, and ASD + LI. For each language measure, RDI was defined as the product of the total number of test items and the sum of the weight (based on item difficulty) of test items missed. Group differences in RDI were assessed, and the relationship between RDI and ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI was investigated for each language assessment. Results Although standard scores were unable to distinguish the LI-only and ASD/ASD + LI groups, the ASD/ASD + LI groups had higher RDI scores compared to LI-only group across all measures of expressive, pragmatic, and metalinguistic language. RDI was positively correlated with quantitative ASD traits across all subgroups and was an effective predictor of ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI. Conclusions The RDI is an effective quantitative metric of developmental deviance/difference that correlates with ASD traits, supporting previous associations between ASD and non-sequential skill acquisition. The RDI can be adapted to other clinical measures to investigate the degree of difference that is not captured by standard performance summary scores. |
topic |
Developmental difference Autism spectrum disorder Language impairment Intra-subtest scatter |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s11689-019-9283-z |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT abbyehareharris withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT marissawmitchel withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT scottmmyers withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT aarondmitchel withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT brianrking withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT brittanygruocco withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT christalesemartin withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT judyfflax withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex AT lindambrzustowicz withintaskvariabilityonstandardizedlanguagetestspredictsautismspectrumdisorderapilotstudyoftheresponsedispersionindex |
_version_ |
1724574006234841088 |