Abstract
The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) is a multi-site case–control study designed to explore the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) phenotypes and etiologies. The goals of this paper are to (1) describe the SEED algorithm that uses the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to classify children with ASD, (2) examine psychometric properties of different ASD classification methods, including the SEED method that incorporates rules for resolving ADI-R and ADOS discordance, and (3) determine whether restricted interests and repetitive behaviors were noted for children who had instrument discordance resolved using ADI-R social and communication scores. Results support the utility of SEED criteria when well-defined groups of children are an important clinical or research outcome.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, C. W., Silove, N., Williams, K., & Hutchins, P. (2007). Validity of the Social Communication Questionnaire in assessing risk of autism in preschool children with developmental problems. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1272–1278.
American Psychiatric Association. (2006). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network Surveillance Year 2002 Principal Investigators. (2007). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 sites, United States, 2002. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 56(No. SS-1), 12–28.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network Surveillance Year 2008 Principal Investigators. (2012). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 sites, United States, 2008. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 61, 1–19.
De Bildt, A., Oosterling, I., van Lang, N., Kuijper, S., Dekker, V., Sytema, S., et al. (2013). How to use the ADI-R for classifying autism spectrum disorders? Psychometric properties of criteria from the literature in 1,204 Dutch children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 2280–2294.
De Bildt, A., Sytema, S., Ketelaars, C., Kraijer, D., Mulder, E., Volmar, F., et al. (2004). Iter-relationship between Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule—Generic (ADOS-G), Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised (ADI-R), and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM4-TR) classification in children and adolescents with mental retardation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 129–137.
Gotham, K., Risi, S., Pickles, A., & Lord, C. (2007). The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule: Revised algorithms for improved diagnostic validity. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 613–627.
International Molecular genetic Study of Autism Consortium (IMGSAC). (2001). A genomewide screen for autism: Strong evidence for linkage to chromosomes 2q, 7q, and 16p. American Society of Human Genetics, 69, 570–581.
Kleinman, J. M., Ventola, P., Pandey, J., Verbalis, A. D., Barton, M., Hodgson, S., et al. (2008). Diagnostic stability in very young children with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 606–615.
Le Couter, A., Haden, G., Hammal, D., & McConachie, H. (2008). Diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in pre-school children using two standardized assessment instruments: The ADI-R and ADOS. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 362–372.
Lee, L.-C., David, A. B., Rusyniak, J., Landa, R., & Newschaffer, C. J. (2007). Performance of the Social Communication Questionnaire in children receiving preschool special education services. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 1, 126–138.
Levy, S. E., Giarelli, E., Lee, L.-C., Schieve, L. A., Kirby, R. S., Cunniff, C., et al. (2010). Autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring developmental, psychiatric, and medical conditions among children in multiple populations of the United States. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 31, 267–275.
Lord, C., Risi, S., DiLavore, P., Shulman, C., Thurm, A., & Pickles, A. (2006). Autism from 2 to 9 years of age. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 694–701.
Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H, Jr, Leventhal, B. L., DiLavore, P. C., et al. (2000). The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30(3), 205–223.
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., & Risi, S. (1999). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., & Risi, S. (2012). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. L. (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24(5), 659–685.
Mullen, E. (1995). Mullen scales of early learning. San Antonio, TX: Pearson.
Risi, S., Lord, C., Gotham, K., Corsello, C., Chrysler, C., Szatmari, P., et al. (2006). Combining information from multiple sources in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 1094–1103.
Rutter, M., Bailey, A., & Lord, C. (2003a). SCQ: Social Communication Questionnaire. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Rutter, M., Le Couteur, A., & Lord, C. (2003b). ADI-R: The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Schendel, D. E., DiGuiseppi, C., Croen, L.A., Fallin, M. D., Reed, P. L., Schieve, L.A., et al. (2012). The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED): A multisite epidemiologic study of autism by the Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE) Network. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities (epub ahead of print).
Sparrow, S., Balla, D., & Cicchetti, D. (2005). Vineland adaptive behavior scales (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Pearson.
Sung, Y., Dawson, G., Munson, J., Estes, A., Schellenberg, G. D., & Wijsman, E. M. (2005). Genetic investigation of quantitative traits related to autism: Use of multivariate polygenic models with ascertainment adjustment. American Journal of Human Genetics, 76, 68–81.
Sutera, S., Pandey, J., Esser, E., Rosenthal, M. A., Wilson, L. B., Barton, M., et al. (2007). Predictors of optimal outcome in toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 98–107.
The Ohio State University (OSU) Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology. (2005). OSU Autism Rating Scale (OARS; adapted for SEED) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI; adapted for SEED). Retrieved August 30, 2010 from, http://psychmed.osu.edu/resources.htm.
Turner, L., Stone, W., Pozdol, S., & Coonrod, E. (2006). Follow-up of children with autism spectrum disorders from age 2 to age 9. Autism, 10, 243–265.
Wiggins, L. D., Baio, J., Lee, L.-C., Nicholas, J., & Rice, C. (2012). Retention of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses by community professionals: Findings from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 2000 & 2006. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 33, 387–395.
Wiggins, L. D., Bakeman, R., Adamson, L. B., & Robins, D. L. (2007). The utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire in screening for autism in children referred for early intervention. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 22, 33–38.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Lisa Croen, Julie Daniels, Ellen Giarelli, Rebecca Landa, Cordelia Robinson, Diana Schendel, Amy Sims, and Patrick Thompson for their contributions to the development of the SEED final classification algorithm and/or comments on previous versions of this paper. We would also like to thank Aimee Alexander, Rebecca Cantrell, and Laura Schieve for their assistance with data cleaning and the SEED principal investigators, co-principal investigators, project coordinators, project staff, and children and families who participated in this research. This publication was supported by six cooperative agreements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000180, Colorado Department of Public Health; Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000181, Kaiser Foundation Research Institute (CA); Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000182, University of Pennsylvania; Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000183, Johns Hopkins University; Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000184, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Cooperative Agreement Number U10DD000498, Michigan State University. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wiggins, L.D., Reynolds, A., Rice, C.E. et al. Using Standardized Diagnostic Instruments to Classify Children with Autism in the Study to Explore Early Development. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 1271–1280 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2287-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2287-3