Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug;60(8):978-985.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.11.008. Epub 2020 Nov 18.

Post-High School Daily Living Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Elaine B Clarke  1 , James B McCauley  2 , Catherine Lord  3
Affiliations

Post-High School Daily Living Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Elaine B Clarke et al. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: Daily living skills (DLS) are a predictor of positive outcomes in youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet little is known about trajectories of DLS in adults with ASD. This study investigated the impact of high school exit on participants' trajectories of daily living skills age equivalent (DLS-AE) scores from ages 2 to 26 and the relationship between DLS-AE trajectories and employment and education outcomes.

Method: Participants were 98 adults with ASD drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales were administered 8 times from ages 2 to 26. Employment and education data were compiled from parent report demographic forms.

Results: DLS-AE trajectories modestly increased with age before exiting school, at which point DLS-AE trajectories plateaued, then declined. A significant (p < .01) decrease occurred in the slope of DLS-AE trajectories following school exit. High DLS-AE scores predicted participation in postsecondary education (χ25 [n = 73] = 27.83, p < .001). Autism symptom severity predicted participation in employment (χ25 [n = 58] = 27.54, p < .001).

Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that DLS decline in adults with ASD, specifically after school exit, and highlight the importance of DLS in normative adult outcomes. Future work should examine the trajectories of DLS in middle and later adulthood and consider intervention targets for bolstering DLS following school exit.

Keywords: adaptive function; adulthood; autism spectrum disorder; daily living skills; developmental trajectories.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Trajectories of Daily Living Skills Age Equivalent (DLS-AE) From 2 to 26 Note: The dotted line indicates mean age of high school exit in our sample (m = 20.01, SD = 2.07). The dashed (m = 21.15, SD = 1.97) and solid (m = 19.09, SD = 1.59) lines indicate mean ages of high school exit in the Low DLS-AE and High DLS-AE groups, respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Howlin P, Magiati I. Autism spectrum disorder: outcomes in adulthood. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2017;30(2):69–76. doi:10.1097/YCO.0000000000000308 - DOI - PubMed
    1. McCauley JB, Pickles A, Huerta M, Lord C. Defining Positive Outcomes in More and Less Cognitively Able Autistic Adults. Autism Res. n/a(n/a). doi:10.1002/aur.2359 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Orsmond GI, Shattuck PT, Cooper BP, Sterzing PR, Anderson KA. Social Participation Among Young Adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2013;43(11):2710–2719. doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1833-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Farmer C, Swineford L, Swedo SE, Thurm A. Classifying and characterizing the development of adaptive behavior in a naturalistic longitudinal study of young children with autism. J Neurodev Disord. 2018;10(1):1. doi:10.1186/s11689-017-9222-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kanne SM, Gerber AJ, Quirmbach LM, Sparrow SS, Cicchetti DV, Saulnier CA. The Role of Adaptive Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Implications for Functional Outcome. J Autism Dev Disord. 2011;41(8):1007–1018. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1126-4 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types