Projects per year
Abstract
Recently, evidence of poor or atypical motor skills in autism spectrum disorder has led some to argue that motor impairment is a core feature of the condition. The current study uses a longitudinal prospective design to assess the development of motor skills of 20 children at increased risk of developing autism spectrum disorder, who were recruited and tested at 9 and 40 months of age, on the basis of having an older sibling diagnosed with the condition. All children completed a range of motor, face processing, IQ and diagnostic assessments at a follow-up visit (aged 5-7 years), providing a detailed profile of development in this group from a number of standardised, parental report and experimental measures. A higher proportion of children than expected demonstrated motor difficulties at the follow-up visit and those highlighted by parental report as having poor motor skills as infants and toddlers were also more likely to have lower face processing scores and elevated autism-related social symptoms at 5-7 years, despite having similar IQ levels. These data lend support to the argument that early motor difficulties may be a risk factor for later motor impairment as well as differences in social communication and cognition, traits that are related to autism spectrum disorder.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Autism : the international journal of research and practice |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2014 |
Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder
- broader autism phenotype
- face processing
- infant siblings
- motor development
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Dive into the research topics of 'Motor development in children at risk of autism: a follow-up study of infant siblings.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Preschool Autism Communication Trial (PACT).
Green, J. (PI), Macdonald, W. (CoI) & Pickles, A. (CoI)
13/02/06 → 18/04/10
Project: Research