Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition Research Articles

Expressive Language Profiles in a Clinical Screening Sample of Mandarin-Speaking Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This cross-sectional study aimed to depict expressive language profiles and clarify lexical-grammatical interrelationships in Mandarin-speaking preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the administration of the simplified Chinese Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition screening. We collected naturalistic language samples from 81 (74 boys, seven girls) 2- to 7-year-old (Mage = 55.6 months, SD = 15.17) Mandarin-speaking children with ASD in clinician-child interactions. The child participants were divided into five age subgroups with 12-month intervals according to their chronological age. Computer-assisted part-of-speech tagging, constituency analysis, and dependency analysis addressed the developmental trajectories of early lexical and grammatical growth in each age subgroup. Significant within-ASD differences were observed in content words, function words, and lexical categories. Nouns and verbs were the predominant lexical categories, while noun types overwhelmed verb types in children over 3 years old. The grammatical development of 5- to 6-year-old Mandarin-speaking children with ASD was better than that of 3- to 4-year-old children. The trends of syntactic structures, grammatical relations, and grammatical complexity in each age group were similar. Mandarin-speaking preschoolers with ASD produce more lexicons with increasing age. They preserve the noun bias as a universal mechanism in early lexical learning. Moreover, their developmental trajectories of grammatical growth were comparable in each age subgroup. In addition, their lexicons and grammar were synchronically developed during early language acquisition.

Characterization of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) subtypes based on the relationship between motor skills and social communication abilities.

Motor abnormalities are generally observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and motor difficulties are certainly evident during the early years of life and may thus precede social-communication impairments. The main aim of the present study was to examine ASD subtypes based on the relationship between motor skills and social communication abilities. Motor skills and social communication abilities were evaluated through the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Version and the Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition. In addition, social communication abilities were classified according to the Autism Classification System of Functioning: Social Communication-ACSF:SC criteria. We found that children with ASD presented poorer motor skills than their TD peers, and motor impairments correlated with poorer social communication abilities in children with ASD. In addition, children with lower social and communication functioning showed a more prominent impairment in manual dexterity and fine motor skills than children with better social and communication functioning. In conclusion, we suggest that stratifying children with ASD based on motor and social endophenotypes may be useful to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of ASD and lead to new types of treatment.

Differences in Developmental Functioning Profiles Between Male and Female Preschoolers Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study investigated differences in clinical symptoms and developmental functioning profiles as well as sex-specific correlations of clinical characteristics and communication abilities, motor skills, and maladaptive behaviors in male and female preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Fifty-two females (mean age 4.5 ± 2.16 years old) and 62 males (mean age 4.2 ± 1.17 years old) with ASD were enrolled and assessed by measures including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) and Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition (PEP-3). We found intellectual disability in 91.2% of the children. While preschoolers with ASD showed comparable severity of restricted and repetitive behaviors (P = 0.17), females with ASD were less severely affected than age and intelligence quotient-matched males with ASD in the ADOS-2 social affect domain (P value = 0.001) and calibrated severity scores (P = 0.002). Interestingly, sex-specific linear regressions revealed that fine motor skills were predictive of impaired social affect in males but not in females. Specifically, motor skills might be the core feature for sex differences in ASD. Although preliminary, this finding suggests the need for more sex-specific diagnostic and intervention strategies in order to improve early identification efforts and specific intervention targets. LAY SUMMARY: Little is known about differences in developmental and functional profiles in males and females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We found important similarities and differences in the core ASD symptoms between male and female preschoolers. In addition, fine motor skills seem to predict social affect impairment and ASD symptom severity in males with ASD. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1537-1547. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Efficacy of parent-training programs for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized controlled trial

Previous research has shown that parent-training programs derived from the developmental individual-difference relationship-based model (DIR) can improve the communicative development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the empirical evidence is weak. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of two home-based parent-training programs on children’s developmental abilities, adaptive functioning, and parents’ parenting skills. A rigorous randomized controlled trial (RCT) design with a dose-matched control group was used. Twenty-four preschool children with ASD and their parents were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group at the pre-test phase and received a 14-week intervention program. The children’s development levels were assessed using the Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS) and the Chinese version of Psychoeducational Profile-Third edition (CPEP-3). Adaptive functioning were assessed using the CPEP-3 and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Parenting skills were assessed using the FEAS. Children and caregivers in the intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in emotional development and parenting skills than those in the control group after the 14-week period. However, no treatment efficacy emerged for other developmental areas and adaptive functioning on two standardized measures. The results suggest that the home-based parent-training program based on the DIR model may benefit children with ASD for the emotional development and the parents for parenting skills.

Effectiveness of a SCERTS Model-Based Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Hong Kong: A Pilot Study

A SCERTS model-based intervention with different durations (5-month vs. 10-month) was provided to 122 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (age = 53.43 ± 9.05 months) in Hong Kong. Before and after the intervention, the children were assessed with the Chinese Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition (CPEP-3) and the Developmental Assessment Chart (DAC). Educators and parents expressed their views toward the intervention in focus groups. Results showed that participating children improved significantly in their social communication and emotional behavior after the intervention, as measured by DAC and CPEP-3. Likewise, educators and parents had positive views toward the intervention and noted the children’s improvement. The results suggest that a SCERTS model-based intervention can improve social communication, emotional regulation, and other skills in children with ASD.

Developing a short form of the Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition for children with autism spectrum disorder

The Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition (PEP-3), a standardized and norm-referenced scale, is designed to assess the development of communication and motor skills and the presence of maladaptive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to develop a short form of the PEP-3, the SF-PEP3, which would reduce the administration time while maintaining the psychometric properties similar to the original version. The study consisted of two parts: development and cross-validation of the SF-PEP3. In the first part, 116 children with ASD were recruited and assessed with the Chinese Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition (CPEP-3). After 6 months, 63 of them were assessed again. We developed the SF-PEP3 by selecting the items with the highest internal consistency and the greatest responsiveness. The easiest and the most difficult items were added because of the notable ceiling and floor effects. The psychometric properties of the 4 versions of the SF-PEP3 were compared with the original CPEP-3. The score distribution, the reliability, and the concurrent validity of the 73-item SF-PEP3 were better than those of the 57-item and 66-item SF-PEP3s. The responsiveness of the 73-item SF-PEP3 was better than those of the 79-item SF-PEP3 and the original CPEP-3. Thus, the 73-item SF-PEP3 was determined to be the best. In the second part, 101 children with ASD were recruited, and 35 of them were followed up after 1 year. The psychometric properties of the 73-item SF-PEP3 were cross-validated and found to be similar to those of the original CPEP-3. In conclusion, the 73-item SF-PEP3 has been developed and shown to be psychometrically similar to the original CPEP-3. It is recommended that the 172-item CPEP-3 be used in the initial evaluation and that the subtests or composites scores of the 73-item SF-PEP3 be used as the outcome indicators for children with ASD.

Can PEP-3 Provide a Cognitive Profile in Children with ASD? A Comparison Between the Developmental Ages of PEP-3 and IQ of Leiter-R.

The assessment of the intelligence quotient (IQ) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is important to plan a detailed therapeutic-educative programme. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of the Psychoeducational Profile-third edition (PEP-3) to estimate the general cognitive development of children with ASD. We recruited 30 children with ASD assessed with the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Leiter-R) and the PEP-3. We compared the IQ of the Leiter-R with the developmental level (DL) of PEP-3. The findings showed a significant positive correlation between IQ with DL of the cognitive verbal/pre-verbal (P=0.0005), DL of the area of expressive language (P=0.0004), DL of the area of receptive language (P=0.0001), DL of fine motor (P=0.0066), DL of gross motor (P=0.0217), DL of visuo-motor imitation (P=0.02), DL of communication (P=0.0001) and DL of motor (P=0.0063). These findings show that the DLs could be considered as indicators of cognitive functioning in ASD.

Reliability and validity of the Psychoeducational Profile-third edition Caregiver Report in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The aim of this study was to examine the internal consistency, inter-respondent reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the Psychoeducational Profile-third edition Caregiver Report (PEP3-CR) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We examined the internal consistency on 66 mothers of children with ASD who completed the PEP3-CR. Inter-respondent reliability was examined on 46 pairs of mothers and fathers who completed the PEP3-CR independently within one week. Moreover, 64 children were administered the Psychoeducational Profile-third edition Performance Test (PEP3-PT) and 20 children and their parents were administered the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) to examine the convergent and divergent validity of the PEP3-CR. The Cronbach's alpha of the PEP3-CR subtests, ranging from 0.83 to 0.85, indicated sufficient internal consistency. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of the two parents, ranging from 0.66 to 0.79, indicated moderate inter-respondent reliability. The correlations between the PEP3-PT, CARS, VABS and the PEP3-CR supported the convergent and divergent validity of the PEP3-CR. Therefore, the PEP3-CR is a reliable and valid caregiver report for assessing adaptive functioning and autistic behaviors in children with ASD.

Responsiveness of the Psychoeducational Profile-third Edition for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The aim of this study was to examine the responsiveness of the Psychoeducational Profile-third edition (PEP-3) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We investigated the responsiveness in terms of three types of scores (i.e., raw scores, developmental ages, and percentile ranks) of the subtests and composites of the PEP-3 and three methods of analysis were used: effect size, standardized response mean, and paired t test. The findings generally support the use of the PEP-3 as an outcome measure. We suggest using the raw scores and developmental ages of the PEP-3 when evaluating program effectiveness and developmental changes for children with ASD.

Inter-rater reliability and smallest real difference of the Chinese Psychoeducational Profile-third edition for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this study was to examine the inter-rater reliability of the Chinese version of the Psychoeducational Profile-third edition (CPEP-3) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We also calculated the smallest real difference (SRD) for users to determine whether the change score rated by different raters for an individual child is valid. The CPEP-3 was administered to 42 children aged from 2 years 4 months to 7 years 7 months by two independent therapists twice, with an 11- to 21-day interval. The high internal consistency for performance subtests (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92–0.98) and composites (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92–0.95) in the CPEP-3 indicates the homogeneity of all the items in each subtest and composite. The inter-rater reliability of the CPEP-3, examined by intra-class correlation coefficient, ranged from 0.57 to 0.94 for the performance subtests, and 0.63 to 0.89 for the composites. The SRDs of the CPEP-3 ranged from 5.8 to 12.8 for the performance subtests, and 7.3 to 18.0 for the composites. The SRDs of the CPEP-3 were 14.4–51.8% of the possible highest scores of each subtest and composite. The substantial SRDs indicate that clinicians should consider such SRD values in determining whether a child's change score of the CPEP-3 indicates real change when the CPEP-3 is administered by different raters. Further studies to examine the construct validity, responsiveness, and minimally important difference of the CPEP-3 are needed to improve the utility of the CPEP-3.