Table 1.
Main sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the sample
| Sample characteristics | N | % |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||
| Male | Female | 30 | 30 | 50 | 50% |
| Age | ||
| 0–5 years | 14 | 23.3% |
| 6–11 years | 25 | 41.7% |
| 12–17 years | 12 | 20.0% |
| ≥18 years | 9 | 15.0% |
| Socioeconomic status | ||
| Low | M-low | Middle | 1 | 14 | 9 | 1.6% | 23.3% | 15% |
| M-upper | Upper | 17 | 19 | 28.3% | 31.6% |
| Gestational age | ||
| Pre-term (<37 weeks) | 12 | 20.0% |
| Full-term (38–42 weeks) | 48 | 80.0% |
| Language (≥3 yo)* | 54 | |
| No words | 28 | 51.9% |
| Single words | 7 | 13.0% |
| Simple sentences | 11 | 20.4% |
| Fluid speech | 8 | 14.8% |
| Developmental regression/Loss of skills (parent reported) | ||
| Yes | No | 25 | 35 | 41.7 | 58.3% |
| Recovered skills | ||
| Yes | No | 12 | 13 | 48 | 52% |
| Autistic and other clinically relevant behaviours | N | % |
| ADOS-2* | 48 | - |
| Total-CSS 1–3 | 12 | 25.0% |
| Total-CSS 4–5 | 8 | 16.7% |
| Total-CSS 6–10 | 28 | 58.3% |
| CBCL* (1.5–5 years | 6–18 years) | 10 | 28 | |
| Emotionally reactive | 4 | n/a | 40% | n/a |
| Anxious/depressed | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| Somatic complaints | 0 | 6 | 0% | 21% |
| Sleep problems | 1 | n/a | 10% | n/a |
| Attention problems | 6 | 20 | 60% | 71% |
| Withdrawn | 7 | 7 | 70% | 25% |
| Aggressive | 3 | 6 | 30% | 21% |
| Rule-breaking | n/a | 3 | n/a | 11% |
| Social problems | n/a | 18 | n/a | 64% |
| Thought problems | n/a | 15 | n/a | 54% |
| SDQ* | 33 | |
| Emotional symptoms | 1 | 3.0% |
| Conduct problems | 2 | 6.1% |
| Hyperactivity | 21 | 63.6% |
| Peer relations difficulties | 22 | 66.7% |
| Difficulties with prosocial behaviour | 28 | 84.8% |
| Total | 17 | 51.5% |
*Language: We used 3 years as the developmental threshold for language acquisition, and only considered participants over this age for descriptive purposes to better distinguish delay in acquisition from absence of speech. The remaining 6, however, were minimally verbal. *ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale-2): Calibrated severity scores indicate severity of autistic symptoms. *CBCL (Child Behavior Checklist): One version for children aged 1.5 to 5 years and another for children aged 6 to 18 with five shared subscales; values indicate individuals who scored over the cutoff for borderline clinical relevance. *SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire): Values indicate individuals who scored over the cutoff for borderline clinical relevance