Differences in autism features and adaptive functioning between adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and social communication disorder

Introduction

This study aimed to characterize adolescents with social communication disorder (SCD) in comparison with those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across two dimensions: autism features and adaptive functioning. SCD shares social communication difficulties with ASD, resulting in unclear diagnostic boundaries and raising concerns about its clinical utility given that existing research and resources remain largely ASD-oriented.

Methods