Daily Living Skill Profiles in Adolescents With Autism and Developmental Disabilities

What daily living skills (DLS) are adolescents with autism performing independently and what are the strongest predictors of independent DLS?In this longitudinal study of 852 adolescents, overall, DLS performance was lower among adolescents with autism compared with adolescents without autism. Early expressive language skills, fine motor skills, and attention problems predicted independent DLS performance among adolescents with autism and other developmental disabilities.These results demonstrate that certain early childhood abilities may predict independent performance of daily tasks, may help identify children with greater daily needs, and prioritize support to promote greater independence by adolescence.

Corresponding Author: Patrick S. Powell, PhD, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS 106, Atlanta, GA 30341 (pmf8@cdc.gov).

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