Differential Neurodevelopmental Trajectories in Patients With autism spectrum disorders and developmental language disorders: A large-sample study from China

Abstract

Abstract In children, both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental language disorder (DLD) are characterized by serious deficits in language development and have a certain overlap in their symptoms, it is often difficult to reach a clear diagnosis. In this study 3219 children with ASD and DLD were evaluated using the Gesell Developmental Diagnostic Scale (GDDS) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). We observed Children with ASD exhibited a lower score in five domains. And the CARS score shows negative low to moderate correlation with the five domains of the GDDS. Based on our findings, we deduce that GDDS combined with CARS assessment can be helpful for early screening and differential diagnosis of children with ASD and DLD.