Motor development in children at risk of autism: a follow-up study of infant siblings.

Jonathan Green, Hayley C Leonard, Rachael Bedford, Tony Charman, Mayada Elsabbagh, Mark H Johnson, Elisabeth L Hill, Simon Baron-Cohen (Collaborator), Patrick Bolton (Collaborator), Susie Chandler (Collaborator), Holly Garwood (Collaborator), Karla Holmboe (Collaborator), Kristelle Hudry (Collaborator)

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    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 languageEnglish
    JournalAutism : the international journal of research and practice
    Volume18
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Apr 2014

    Keywords

    • autism spectrum disorder
    • broader autism phenotype
    • face processing
    • infant siblings
    • motor development

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    • Preschool Autism Communication Trial (PACT).

      Green, J. (PI), Macdonald, W. (CoI) & Pickles, A. (CoI)

      13/02/0618/04/10

      Project: Research

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