Use of the Griffiths mental development scale-Chinese in the assessment of children with autism spectrum disorder and global developmental delay/intellectual disability

The Griffiths Mental Development Scale-Chinese (GDS-C) is used in China to assess the development of children from birth to 8 years of age. Language disorders are a common symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and global developmental delay (GDD)/intellectual disability (ID). There is a need to identify distinct clinical characteristics in children suspected of having these 2 disorders, mainly presenting as language disorders. Here, we aimed to use the GDS-C to evaluate children presenting with language problems to identify characteristics that distinguish ASD and GDD/ID. Children with language problems were recruited between August 2018 and December 2019. A total of 150 children aged 25 to 95.2 months were enrolled (50 in the ASD group, 50 in the GDD/ID group, and 50 in the typical group). Each group was subdivided by age as follows: 24-36 months, >36-60 months, and >60-96 months. Developmental characteristics assessed using the GDS-C were analyzed and compared. Both, children with ASD and GDD/ID presented with a lower developmental level than typical children in all six subscales of the GDS-C. No significant differences were observed in the six subscale scores between the ASD and GDD/ID groups, except for the practical reasoning subscale score in the >36 to 60 months subgroups, which was significantly lower in the GDD/ID group than in the ASD group. The developmental imbalance of subscales within the ASD and GDD/ID groups identified troughs in the personal-social, language, and practical reasoning areas in children with ASD and in the language and practical reasoning areas in children with GDD/ID relative to typical children. The GDS-C is a useful, comprehensive tool for the assessment of the developmental state of children with ASD and GDD/ID. Characteristics of practical reasoning subscale help diagnose autism in >36 to 60 months old children.

Automated summary

The study used the GDS-C to assess children with language problems, finding that both ASD and GDD/ID patients exhibited lower developmental levels compared to typically developing children. While there were no significant differences in the six subscale scores between the ASD and GDD/ID groups, an imbalance in subscale development within each group highlighted deficits in social-personal, language, and practical reasoning skills for children with ASD, and in language and practical reasoning skills for children with GDD/ID, relative to typical children. The practical reasoning subscale characteristics of the GDS-C were particularly useful in diagnosing autism in children aged >36 to 60 months.