Back, Elisa, Jonkman, Kim and Begeer, Sander (2021) Predictors of treatment choice in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: demographic and autism-specific characteristics. In: Developmental Psychology Section Annual Conference; 15-17 Sept 2021, Held online. (Unpublished)

Abstract

Autism is a heterogenous disorder and symptoms present in different ways. There is a variety of available treatments, however little is known about why specific treatments are chosen. We aimed to explore treatment prevalence and to examine which demographic and/or autism-specific characteristics predict treatment use. This study used data from the Netherlands Autism Register, an open longitudinal register. Data was gathered through yearly online questionnaires completed by (parents of) children with autism (N=1464) between 2013 and 2019. Findings suggested that most children had received some type of intervention at some point(s), and about half had received medication. Analysis of the demographic factors revealed that children who attend special education or have a co-occurring diagnosis receive more treatment. Moreover, age, IQ, sex and maternal education level were related to treatment choice. From the autism-specific characteristics only sensory issues were predictive of treatment use; more severe issues decreased the chance of medication use. Results from this study show potential shortcomings of autism treatment such as the lack of transdiagnostic treatment options and treatment choice being guided by demographic characteristics rather than autism-specific characteristics.

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