scholarly journals Profiles of Early Actions and Gestures in Infants With an Older Sibling With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1195-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey L. West ◽  
Emily J. Roemer ◽  
Jessie B. Northrup ◽  
Jana M. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Familial Risk ◽  
Object Manipulation ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Older Sibling

Purpose Infants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) produce fewer play actions and gestures than neurotypical infants (e.g., Mastrogiuseppe et al., 2015; Veness et al., 2012; Zwaigenbaum et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether different “types” of actions and gestures are more or less likely to develop atypically in ASD. Method We examined eight types of actions and gestures longitudinally from ages 8 to 14 months in 80 infants with a heightened risk for developing ASD by virtue of having an affected older sibling (high risk [HR]; e.g., Ozonoff et al., 2011) and 25 infants with no such familial risk (low risk). Data were collected using the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (Fenson et al., 1994, 1993). Results HR infants later diagnosed with ASD showed less growth across nearly all types of actions and gestures compared to the low-risk comparison group. Importantly, these HR infants who were later diagnosed with ASD also exhibited reduced growth in frequent deictic gestures and in actions that involve object manipulation relative to HR infants with non-ASD language delay. Conclusions During infancy, it is challenging for clinicians to distinguish ASD from other early communicative delays (e.g., Camarata, 2014). Our results indicate that deictic gestures, as well as actions and gestures involving object manipulation, may be useful targets of surveillance strategies for HR infants and could support early detection efforts for ASD.

scholarly journals Development of attention from birth to 5 months in infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 491-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Bradshaw ◽  
Ami Klin ◽  
Lindsey Evans ◽  
Cheryl Klaiman ◽  
Celine Saulnier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
At Risk ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Familial Risk ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

AbstractSocial-communication skills emerge within the context of rich social interactions, facilitated by an infant's capacity to attend to people and objects in the environment. Disruption in this early neurobehavioral process may decrease the frequency and quality of social interactions and learning opportunities, potentially leading to downstream deleterious effects on social development. This study examined early attention in infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are at risk for social and communication delays. Visual and auditory attention was mapped from age 1 week to 5 months in infants at familial risk for ASD (high risk; N = 41) and low-risk typically developing infants (low risk; N = 39). At 12 months, a subset of participants (N = 40) was administered assessments of social communication and nonverbal cognitive skills. Results revealed that high-risk infants performed lower on attention tasks at 2 and 3 months of age compared to low-risk infants. A significant association between overall attention at 3 months and developmental outcome at 12 months was observed for both groups. These results provide evidence for early vulnerabilities in visual attention for infants at risk for ASD during a period of important neurodevelopmental transition (between 2 and 3 months) when attention has significant implications for social communication and cognitive development.

scholarly journals Early Motor and Communicative Development in Infants With an Older Sibling With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 2673-2684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana M. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Motor Abilities ◽  
Early Communication ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Recent Approach ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Older Sibling

Purpose A recent approach to identifying early markers of risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been to study infants who have an older sibling with ASD. These infants are at heightened risk (HR) for ASD and for other developmental difficulties, and even those who do not receive an eventual ASD diagnosis manifest a high degree of variability in trajectories of development. The primary goal of this review is to summarize findings from research on early motor and communicative development in these HR infants. Method This review focuses on 2 lines of inquiry. The first assesses whether delays and atypicalities in early motor abilities and in the development of early communication provide an index of eventual ASD diagnosis. The second asks whether such delays also influence infants' interactions with objects and people in ways that exert far-reaching, cascading effects on development. Results HR infants who do and who do not receive a diagnosis of ASD vary widely in motor and communicative development. In addition, variation in infant motor and communicative development appears to have cascading effects on development, both on the emergence of behavior in other domains and on the broader learning environment. Conclusions Advances in communicative and language development are supported by advances in motor skill. When these advances are slowed and/or when new skills are not consolidated and remain challenging for the infant, the enhanced potential for exploration afforded by new abilities and the concomitant increase in opportunities for learning are reduced. Improving our understanding of communicative delays of the sort observed in ASD and developing effective intervention methods requires going beyond the individual to consider the constant, complex interplay between developing communicators and their environments. Presentation Video https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7299308

scholarly journals Feeling, caring, knowing: different types of empathy deficit in boys with psychopathic tendencies and autism spectrum disorder

2010 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1188-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice P. Jones ◽  
Francesca G.E. Happé ◽  
Francesca Gilbert ◽  
Stephanie Burnett ◽  
Essi Viding
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Psychopathic Tendencies

scholarly journals Response to changing contingencies in infants at high and low risk for autism spectrum disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie B. Northrup ◽  
Klaus Libertus ◽  
Jana M. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

Early development of social attention in toddlers at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder

2022 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 101662
Author(s):  
Yixiao Hu ◽  
Qianhan Xiong ◽  
Qiandong Wang ◽  
Ci Song ◽  
Duo Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Familial Risk ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

scholarly journals “If He Has it, We Know What to Do”: Parent Perspectives on Familial Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine E MacDuffie ◽  
Lauren Turner-Brown ◽  
Annette M Estes ◽  
Benjamin S Wilfond ◽  
Stephen R Dager ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Familial Risk ◽  
Predictive Testing ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
Familial Disorders

Abstract Objective Predictive testing for familial disorders can guide healthcare and reproductive decisions. Familial disorders with onset in childhood (e.g., autism spectrum disorder [ASD]) are promising targets for presymptomatic prediction; however, little is known about parent perceptions of risk to their children in the presymptomatic period. The current study examined risk perceptions in parents of infants at high familial risk for ASD enrolled in a longitudinal study of brain and behavior development. Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with 37 parents of high-risk infants during the presymptomatic window (3–15 months) that precedes an ASD diagnosis. Infants were identified as high familial risk due to having an older sibling with ASD. Parent interview responses were coded and interpreted to distill emerging themes. Results The majority of parents were aware of the increased risk of ASD for their infants, and risk perceptions were influenced by comparisons to their older child with ASD. Parents reported a variety of negative emotions in response to perceived risk, including worry, fear, and sadness, and described impacts of perceived risk on their behavior: increased vigilance to emerging symptoms, altered reproductive and healthcare decisions, and seeking ongoing assessment through research. Conclusions Parents of children at high familial risk for childhood-onset disorders like ASD face a period of challenging uncertainty during early development. In anticipation of a future in which presymptomatic testing for ASD is made available, it is important to understand how parents react to and cope with the elevated—but still highly uncertain—risk conveyed by family history.

scholarly journals Resistance to temptation in toddlers at genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder

Autism ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1018-1027
Author(s):  
Susan B Campbell ◽  
Jessie B Northrup ◽  
Amy B Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
High Risk Children

Children with autism spectrum disorder often demonstrate difficulties with self-regulation, although studies of this construct in young children with autism spectrum disorder are limited. In this study, developmental changes were examined using a measure of self-regulation appropriate for young children, resistance to temptation. At 22, 28, and 34 months, toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (high risk) and toddlers with typically developing older siblings (low risk) were presented with an appealing toy and instructed not to touch it. Observers coded whether or not children touched the toy and the strategies they used to resist touching it. At 36 months, children were assessed for autism spectrum disorder, yielding three groups: high risk children with autism spectrum disorder, high risk children without autism spectrum disorder, and low risk children. At 22 months, most children, regardless of group, touched the forbidden toy; at 28 and 34 months, many high risk children without autism spectrum disorder and low risk children resisted the temptation to touch the toy, whereas most of the children with autism spectrum disorder did not. Differences in delay strategies were also evident. Some, but not all group differences, were accounted for by differences in language ability. Results highlight one early index of impulse control that differentiates children with emerging autism spectrum disorder from age-mates prior to the third birthday.

scholarly journals Action prediction in 10-month-old infants at high and low familial risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Braukmann ◽  
Emma Ward ◽  
Roy S. Hessels ◽  
Harold Bekkering ◽  
Jan K. Buitelaar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Familial Risk ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Action Prediction
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