Investigation On Demographic Characteristic And Family Financial Burden Of Autistic Children With Regressive Development In Chongqing,China

Objective: To investigate the demographic characteristics and differences of autistic spectrum disorders(ASD)in children with developmental retrogression and non-developmental retrogression in Chongqing,to analyze the relationship on onset age between developmental retrogression and core symptoms of ASD in the retrogressive group,and to explore whether developmental retrogression aggravates the financial burden of ASD families.Methods: A total of 162 children with ASD aged from 2 to 5 years old in five of special education institutions for ASD in Chongqing were studied,including 75 in the retrogression group and 87 in the non-retrogression group.Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the differences in sex,history of rescue at birth,past medical history and family history between the retrogression group and the non-retrogression group.Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to analyze the relationship between the age of developmental retrogression and the age of ASD symptoms found for the first time in the retrogression group.Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the proportion of rehabilitation treatment for ASD between the two groups.Results: No differences were found on gender,history of rescue at birth,past medical history and family history between retrogressive children and non-retrogressive children(P > 0.05).In the retrogression group,the results demonstrated developmental retrogression was associated with autistic features on onset age,the earlier the onset of ASD symptoms,the earlier the age at which developmental retrogression was reported(P =0.036).In terms of the proportion of family expenditure on ASD rehabilitation treatment between the two groups,the financial burden borne by families in the retrogression group was greater than that in the non-retrogression group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P = 0.056).Conclusion: Although there was no difference in demographic characteristics between the retrogressive group and the non-regressive group,the financial burden of families with developmental retrogression was heavier than that of ASD families without developmental retrogression,and the earlier the onset of ASD symptoms in children with regressive ASD,the earlier their developmental retrogression was found.It is suggested that early and regular developmental monitoring of children with ASD should be carried out,and the rehabilitation treatment of retrogressive ability of retrogressive children should be strengthened in addition to standardized ASD special education and training.