Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Current research suggests that children with Down Syndrome (DS) are at an increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to the general population. Detecting ASD early in children with DS is crucial to providing access to additional treatment services and supports that may be necessary. Despite a critical need to identify ASD as early as possible, diagnoses of ASD are often delayed in individuals with DS. It can be especially difficult for clinicians to differentiate between symptoms attributed to intellectual developmental disorder (IDD), a primary feature of DS, and possible ASD symptoms. Only two research studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of ASD screening measures in individuals with DS, though neither of these studies included individuals with DS under the age of 3 years old. Therefore, this study sought to expand current literature by evaluating the factor structure of the Baby Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT) in 186 toddlers diagnosed with DS as compared to 187 toddlers diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 17 to 35 months. Additionally, the impact of diagnostic group on the frequency at which caregivers endorsed BISCUIT items, ASD symptomology, and clinician-rated communication and cognition scores on the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2nd Edition (BDI-2) were investigated. Results indicated that a four-factor solution fit the DS sample best, while a three-factor solution fit the CP sample best. Congruence coefficients resulted in one factor (i.e., verbal communication) with good similarity between the factor loadings for the DS and CP groups. Toddlers with DS were found to demonstrate significantly less impairment than toddlers with CP across two BISCUIT composites (i.e., nonverbal communication/socialization, restricted interests/repetitive behaviors); however, toddlers with DS demonstrated significantly more impaired communication scores on the BDI-2 and their caregivers more frequently endorsed difficulties with verbal communication on individual BISCUIT items. Implications for ASD screening of children with DS, as well as recommendations for future research and clinical practices are discussed.

Date

7-11-2025

Committee Chair

Matthew Calamia

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.6831

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