Regression in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Critical Overview of Retrospective Findings and Recommendations for Future Research: Invited Contribution to the Special Issue of Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews on “Regression in Developmental Disorders”

Publication date: Available online 24 March 2019Source: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ReviewsAuthor(s): Sofie Boterberg, Tony Charman, Peter B. Marschik, Sven Bölte, Herbert RoeyersAbstractHistorically, two onset patterns in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were described: an early onset of symptoms and a regression in which one-third appear to show a loss of previously established skills in the second year of life. Since this phenomenon could represent a distinct ASD subtype and provide more insight into the etiology, diagnosis and prognosis, many studies have compared these two groups. The present review discusses definitions, etiology and methods used in research with a retrospective design and provides an overview of the results on early development and outcomes. However, retrospective research has not provided clear answers on regression as a distinct subtype of ASD and the historic division between early onset and regression does not seem to fit the empirical findings. Based on inconsistent results, future research on onset patterns in ASD needs to be more systematic on the definitions and methods used. Several recommendations to enhance the reliability of future retrospective results are discussed. The combination of a categorical and dimensional approach provides a new interesting framework.
Source: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research