| Children born preterm are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than children born full term, but very little is known about how the disorder specifically presents in children born preterm. As a spectrum disorder, ASD can have a variety of presentations with varying degrees of severity across different domains. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in the presentation of ASD between children born preterm and children born full term. In order to examine these differences, I examined archival data from a developmental disorders clinic at an urban children's hospital in the Midwest. I compared item level, domain level, and total comparison scores of preterm and full term children who received an ASD diagnosis using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) from January 2012 to May 2017. I found that there were no statistically significant differences between children born preterm and children born full term on comparison and domain level scores. However, on the item level, I found that children born preterm were significantly more likely to demonstrate unusual eye contact compared to full term peers. |
