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Behaviour Profiles within a Population of 145 Children with Autism Using the Behaviour Summarized Evaluation Scale

Influence of Developmental Age

INSERM, Tours, France

Jean-Louis Adrien

INSERM, Tours, France

Nicole Bruneau

INSERM, Tours, France

Joelle Malvy

INSERM, Tours, France

Catherine Barthelemy

INSERM, Tours, France

Clinicians and researchers have observed a degree of heterogeneity within the autistic syndrome which suggests different pathophysiological mechanisms. Greater understanding of this heterogeneity was sought by studying more homogeneous subpopulations according to developmental age (DA) within a large population of children with autism. The sample consisted of 145 children with autism (population P), and two subpopulations were determined according to DA criteria: DA < 2 years, population PDA-; DA? 2 years, population PDA+. An original multivariate descriptive statistical method, correspondence analysis, was applied to 13 behavioural data, followed by a classical hierarchical clustering method. In population P, four behaviour profiles were distinguished on the basis of three main functions: auditory perception, imitation and sensorimotility. The study of more homogeneous subpopulations according to DA revealed differences in the factorial structure of both subpopulations. In population PDA+ the main relevant behaviours defining profiles in autism were first abnormal reactivity to auditory stimuli, followed by imitation deficiences. However in population PDA-the main relevant behaviours were first stereotypies, followed by abnormal reactivity to auditory stimuli. Modification of the organization of behaviours in autism according to developmental age is clarified; unlike the auditory perception dimension, imitation and sensorimotor dimensions may be dependent on development. These results thus support the heterogeneity of the autistic syndrome and clarify some aspects of change and continuity in the expression of the disorders contained in this syndrome.

Key Words: autism • behaviour scales • cluster analysis • correspondence analysis

Autism, Vol. 2, No. 4, 345-366 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/1362361398024003


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