Ghent University, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Belgium.
Ghent University, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Belgium.
Infant Behav Dev. 2019 Nov;57:101377. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101377. Epub 2019 Sep 18.
Language problems are highly prevalent in younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (HR-sibs), yet little is known about early predictors. There is growing evidence that motor and language development are linked and this connection might be mediated by joint attention. Developmental changes in motor abilities change how children interact with objects and people (e.g., by showing), which may influence language development. This association has however not yet been studied in HR-sibs. The interrelationship between motor, joint attention and language skills was explored in younger siblings of typically developing children (LR-sibs, N = 31) and HR-sibs (N = 32). In both groups, motor skills (composite of fine and gross motor skills) at 10 months influenced receptive and expressive language at 36 months directly and indirectly through joint attention at 14 months. Group status moderated this direct and indirect effect with mainly significant effects in HR-sibs. This indicates that lower motor skills can have cascading effects on joint attention and language in HR-sibs. Consequently, assessment of early motor skills in HR-sibs might hold promise for early identification of motor difficulties but can also be indicative of language difficulties later in life, especially when difficulties with joint attention are also present.
语言问题在自闭症谱系障碍儿童的兄弟姐妹中非常普遍，但目前对于早期预测因素知之甚少。越来越多的证据表明，运动和语言发展是相关的，这种联系可能通过共同关注来介导。运动能力的发展变化改变了儿童与物体和人的互动方式（例如，通过展示），这可能会影响语言发展。然而，这种关联尚未在 HR-sibs 中进行研究。本研究旨在探讨在正常发育儿童的弟弟妹妹（LR-sibs，N=31）和自闭症谱系障碍儿童的弟弟妹妹（HR-sibs，N=32）中，运动、共同关注和语言技能之间的相互关系。在这两个群体中，10 个月时的运动技能（精细运动和粗大运动技能的综合）直接和间接地通过 14 个月时的共同关注，影响了 36 个月时的接受性和表达性语言。群体状态调节了这种直接和间接的影响，主要在 HR-sibs 中具有显著影响。这表明，较低的运动技能可能对 HR-sibs 的共同关注和语言产生级联效应。因此，对 HR-sibs 早期运动技能的评估可能有望早期发现运动困难，但也可能预示着以后生活中的语言困难，特别是当共同关注困难也存在时。
