Table 2.
Therapies and Provider Visits by ASD Severity
| ASD Severitya
|
P-valueb | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Mild | Moderate | Severe | ||||||
|
| |||||||||
| % (s.e.) | n | % (s.e.) | n | % (s.e.) | n | % (s.e.) | n | ||
| Therapy Type | |||||||||
|
| |||||||||
| Behavioral intervention or modification | 38.8% (2.3) | 530 | 32.2% (3.4) | 190 | 45.1% (3.8) | 205 | 52.6% (6.6) | 88 | 0.004 |
|
| |||||||||
| School-based therapies (any below) | 72.0% (2.1) | 1016 | 65.3% (3.2) | 412 | 78.8% (3.6) | 387 | 88.2% (4.1) | 132 | 0.0001 |
| Occupational therapy | 37.5% (2.3) | 539 | 24.7% (2.8) | 182 | 45.6% (3.8) | 222 | 63.1% (6.1) | 90 | <0.0001 |
| Physical therapy | 14.5% (1.6) | 220 | 7.8% (1.5) | 63 | 18.5% (3.0) | 89 | 27.9% (6.1) | 42 | <0.0001 |
| Social skills | 48.9% (2.3) | 720 | 44.1% (3.4) | 296 | 58.3% (3.8) | 282 | 57.3% (6.7) | 96 | 0.02 |
| Speech or language therapy | 54.1% (2.3) | 732 | 48.5% (3.5) | 283 | 59.4% (3.9) | 284 | 75.4% (5.4) | 109 | 0.001 |
|
| |||||||||
| Non-school-based therapies (any below) | 35.7% (2.3) | 512 | 22.6% (2.7) | 185 | 42.0% (3.8) | 200 | 49.2% (6.6) | 71 | <0.0001 |
| Occupational therapy | 10.8% (1.5) | 165 | 4.4% (0.8) | 53 | 12.6% (2.3) | 62 | 17.7% (4.8) | 30 | <0.0001 |
| Physical therapy | 5.3% (1.1) | 77 | 1.2% (0.4) | 18 | 6.3% (1.5) | 36 | 8.6% (3.4) | 13 | 0.001 |
| Social skills | 24.1% (2.1) | 339 | 16.8% (2.4) | 133 | 26.1% (3.5) | 124 | 36.1% (6.7) | 47 | 0.004 |
| Speech or language therapy | 14.3% (1.7) | 171 | 7.5% (1.6) | 53 | 16.1% (2.8) | 68 | 22.7% (5.4) | 33 | 0.001 |
|
| |||||||||
| Regular provider visits | 0.001 | ||||||||
| Developmental pediatrician | 33.2% (3.2) | 201 | 32.4% (4.8) | 76 | 28.5% (4.2) | 73 | 58.1% (9.4) | 34 | 0.01 |
| Neurologist | 29.3% (3.1) | 175 | 30.9% (5.5) | 64 | 24.9% (4.3) | 59 | 37.9% (8.0) | 37 | 0.33 |
| Psychiatrist | 57.7% (3.0) | 424 | 48.4% (4.6) | 162 | 54.9% (5.2) | 144 | 66.8% (8.1) | 59 | 0.15 |
| Psychologist/psychotherapist | 42.0% (2.9) | 378 | 35.8% (4.3) | 151 | 41.7% (4.5) | 133 | 41.7% (8.0) | 47 | 0.61 |
| Social worker | 42.6% (3.5) | 247 | 41.2% (5.5) | 84 | 42.3% (5.8) | 100 | 61.0% (8.4) | 38 | 0.16 |
Abbreviations: ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder; s.e., Standard Error
a
ASD severity assessed via parent report
b
p-values from chi-square test, representing statistical significance across the three severity levels by each of the variables in the first column