Incidence of cognitive processing dimension for the diagnostic reliability of level-1 autism spectrum disorder

Diagnostic processes of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) just based over the observation of target-behaviors, regarding to interaction and social communication (social) and restrictive behavior (behavior), seem be most effective for level 2-3 ASD specific diagnosis; however, level 1 ASD diagnosis may be many errors, since the scores sum are within limits corresponding the other specific personality or social communication disorders (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). For this reason, it´s needs complement the analysis of variables that make up the perceptual-cognitive dimension of information processing to specify the diagnosis validity and avoid initial errors that can create important prejudices along educational processes. This study delimits the differential analysis of 3 dimensions on total of 38 participants with level 1 ASD. Indeed, results indicate that, although the constant of diagnostic predictive analysis found through the linear regression analysis shows significant data for diagnosis synthesis, it´s owing to critical influence of cognitive processing dimension: .00, while other 2 dimensions analyzed individually show non-significant influence, being critical significant level for social dimension: .12 and behavior dimension: .35. Therefore, it´s need design diagnostic scales that include the basic principles of perceptual-cognitive processing functioning to avoid errors in autism diagnosis.


Research design
Research study shapes observational analysis of 3 dimensions to specify level 1 ASD diagnosis: 1) Processing, 2) Social and 3) Behavior. Dimensions were analyzed through 5 successive steps of highly structured analysis: 1) initial perception of information to analyze the ability to understand the individual stimuli received and set of stimuli, 2) encoding of information input to research the capacity of analysis of incoming information and attribution of meanings, 3) elaboration of relationships-nodes to analyze the processes of creating relationships or neural nodes between informative contents referring to the incoming stimuli in relation to the previous knowledge acquired, 4) retrieval of learned information, too analyze the necessary steps to make the sweet of chocolate, and 5 creativity, fiction and imagination, which deepens the analysis of the capacity of fiction and imagination.
Direct scores observed along five evaluation steps are transformed to percentiles it constitute the ASD specific diagnostic, through SPSS frequency and percentiles (p) statistics. Hence, research design forms an experimental parametric analysis of data derived from initial observation of criteria-items it evaluate the 3 indicated dimensions.

Participants
A total of 38 students with diagnosis of level 1 ASD participated in this study. Table 1 shows the age ranges of participants, of which 5 are 3-6.9 yo, 19 are 7-10.9 yo, 8 are 11-13.9 yo, 4 are 14-17.9 yo, and 2 are ≥18 yo (see Table 1).

Variables-dimensions
Dimensions used for this analysis are social and behaviour, which also indicated in the diagnostic criteria of International classification (APA, 2103). Processing dimension incorporated at analysis to observe its incidence in ASD diagnosis: 1) DIMENSION 1: PROCESSING, which made up of perceptual-cognitive variables, such as meanings understanding, hierarchization processes, inter-concepts execution, the elaboration of nodes and interconceptual relationships and the recovery processing o semantic memory.
2) DIMENSION 2: SOCIAL, conformed by aspects of interaction and communication-language, social.
3) DIMENSION 3: BEHAVIOR, formed by structural stereotyped and restrictive behaviors way.

Dimensions reliability analysis.
Likewise, reliability analysis has been found for 3 dimensions. Data indicates an Alpha level (α) to items: .77, which be highly significant considering that participants sample size (see Table 2). Correlation indices to 3 analysis dimensions regarding reliability level show dispersed results. Processing dimension correlates with social dimension to medium-high level way (.647), however, correlation of processing dimension with behavior dimension is relatively low: .295. Finally, correlation between social and behaviour dimensions presents a medium-high level: .639 (see Table 3). Frequencies and percentiles analysis.
Data analysis corresponding to direct scores, being 0: very low value, and 4: very high value, have found throughout the observation of these 3 study dimensions. From direct sum scores it´s possible find the percentile (p) corresponding to ASD diagnostic analysis along percentage intervals 5 by 5 are used (see Table 4).

Incidence of cognitive processing dimension for the diagnostic reliability of level-1 autism spectrum disorder
International Journal for Innovation Education and Research Vol. 11 No. 2 (2023), pg. 79 As can be seen, data found respond to study´ previous hypotheses. Social dimension presents a mean direct score of 2.00 belonging between p 5 and p 30, the mean score of 3.00 from p 30 to p 80 and 6.00 to p 90.
Behavior dimension slightly raises the average data found, corresponding an average score of 2.60 at p 20, 3.00 from p 30 to 60, at p 70 and p 80 there´re averages of 5.00 and 5.20 respectively.
In processing dimension, significantly higher mean scores are found, with a mean of 6.33 at p 5 and 8.33 at p 10, and from p 20 to p 70, a significantly higher sum of direct scores analyzed is obtained (10.33), being 12.73 for p: 80 and 20.66 for p 90.
In this sense, without processing dimension analysis, some participants could be left out of ASD symptomatic group owing low scores found over social and behavioral dimensions, while the application of processing dimension includes them within of level 1 ASD diagnosis criteria.

Predictive analysis.
Predictive analysis found throughout parametric regression model regarding participants age groups, corroborates these previous data, in which processing dimension presents one significant highly critical level to explain constant of regression analysis: .00. Other 2 dimensions: social and behavior don´t present decisive influence to specify the ASD diagnostic process: .12 and .35 for social and behavior respectively.
Processing dimension is variable that contributes to global significant critical score of constant model: .00 (see Table 5).

Incidence of cognitive processing dimension for the diagnostic reliability of level-1 autism spectrum disorder
International Journal for Innovation Education and Research Vol. 11 No. 2 (2023), pg. 80 Likewise, explicative sum of predictive model for level 1 ASD diagnosis presents one total R: .640 (R square: .410), std. error estimate: .827. Comparative analysis according age.
Predictive data, frequencies, and percentiles found are independent of participant age group. Indeed, as observed over comparative Table 6 for k independent samples, the critical levels aren´t significant according to different age groups selected.