ABSTRACT
Traditional approaches to diagnosing autism emphasize delays in communication and socialization. Traditional diagnostic schemes typically list symptoms, but provide little guidance on how to incorporate information about developmental level in making a diagnosis. This chapter investigates the ability of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales to identify children with autism. Vineland scores and measures of intellectual functioning were obtained for children with autism, PDDNOS, and other developmental disorders. Socialization scores in the autism group were substantially below the level predicted from chronological age or mental age. The chapter expands on the earlier study in two ways. First, measures of maladaptive behaviors as well as adaptive skills were included. Second, in contrast to an examination of children with autism and children with nonpervasive developmental disorders, a third group of children who had been diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders other than autism were included.
