The Development of Coordinated Communication in Infants at Heightened Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com

Y

17

Infants; At Risk Persons; Social Development; Language Acquisition; Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Delayed Speech; Nonverbal Communication; Clinical Diagnosis; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; Developmental Stages; Psychomotor Skills; Comparative Analysis; Longitudinal Studies

10.1007/s10803-015-2391-z

0162-3257

This study evaluated the extent to which developmental change in coordination of social communication in early infancy differentiates children eventually diagnosed with ASD from those not likely to develop the disorder. A prospective longitudinal design was used to compare nine infants at heightened risk for ASD (HR) later diagnosed with ASD, to 13 HR infants with language delay, 28 HR infants with no diagnosis, and 30 low risk infants. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that ASD infants exhibited significantly slower growth in coordinations overall and in gestures coordinated with vocalizations, even relative to HR infants with language delay. Disruption in the development of gesture-vocalization coordinations may result in negative cascading effects that adversely impact later social and linguistic development.

As Provided

73

2015

EJ1065220