Early identification of learners with autism spectrum disorder: drawing on developmental histories

ABSTRACT

This article examines early developmental histories of learners who attended a government-funded school for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in South Africa from 1992 to 2014. A total of 141 complete historical admission records of learners were analysed. Frequencies, means and correlations were determined for perinatal conditions and developmental milestones. Low birth weight and preterm birth did not occur more than in the general South African population. Only 7.6% of the participants had delayed motor development. Self-help skills, except for feeding, were mostly achieved according to typical developmental criteria. Half of the participants started talking after the age of three years and that was the main reason why parents became concerned about their development. The percentage of participants who were non-verbal and had regressed speech was higher than that reported in other studies. Public information should focus on early developmental factors associated with ASD risk to expedite early identification and diagnosis.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• early developmental histories
• early identification
• motor development
• self-help skills
• speech-language development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Ms Sumari van Biljon is a lecturer in the Department of Inclusive Education at the University of South Africa. She completed her master's degree and undergraduate studies in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Pretoria. Her recent publications include ‘A retrospective case report on demographic changes of learners at a school with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Gauteng Province’ (van Biljon, Kritzinger, & Geertsema, 2015) and ‘Performance of EAL learners on a non-South African Articulation Test (GFTA-2) (van Biljon, Nolte, van der Linde, Zsilavecz, & Naude, 2015). Her current research interests include autism spectrum disorder and inclusive education.

Prof Alta Kritzinger is an associate professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Pretoria. She holds a DPhil which she obtained in 2000 at the University of Pretoria. Her recent publications include ‘Development of a clinical feeding assessment scale for very young infants in South Africa’ (Viviers, Kritzinger, & Vinck, 2016) and ‘Reliability of the Functional Auditory Performance Indicators to monitor progress in 5-year old children with autism spectrum disorder’ (Muller, Kritzinger, Pottas, & Bodenstein, 2016). Her current research interests include early communication intervention, specifically neonatal communication intervention, community-based interventions, caregiver training, the role of speech-language-therapists in Kangaroo Mother Care, high-risk infants and young children, autism spectrum disorder, cleft lip and palate, and Down syndrome.

ORCID

S. van Biljon http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6887-6004