Kellerman Ashleigh M, Schwichtenberg A J, Abu-Zhaya Rana, Miller Meghan, Young Gregory S, Ozonoff Sally
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Autism Res. 2020 Dec;13(12):2190-2201. doi: 10.1002/aur.2373. Epub 2020 Sep 1.
In the first year of life, the ability to engage in sustained synchronous interactions develops as infants learn to match social partner behaviors and sequentially regulate their behaviors in response to others. Difficulties developing competence in these early social building blocks can impact later language skills, joint attention, and emotion regulation. For children at elevated risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), early dyadic synchrony and responsiveness difficulties may be indicative of emerging ASD and/or developmental concerns. As part of a prospective developmental monitoring study, infant siblings of children with ASD (high-risk group n = 104) or typical development (low-risk group n = 71), and their mothers completed a standardized play task when infants were 6, 9, and/or 12 months of age. These interactions were coded for the frequency and duration of infant and mother gaze, positive affect, and vocalizations, respectively. Using these codes, theory-driven composites were created to index dyadic synchrony and infant/maternal responsiveness. Multilevel models revealed significant risk group differences in dyadic synchrony and infant responsiveness by 12 months of age. In addition, high-risk infants with higher dyadic synchrony and infant responsiveness at 12 months received significantly higher receptive and expressive language scores at 36 months. The findings of the present study highlight that promoting dyadic synchrony and responsiveness may aid in advancing optimal development in children at elevated risk for autism. LAY SUMMARY: In families raising children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), younger siblings are at elevated risks for social communication difficulties. The present study explored whether social-communication differences were evident during a parent-child play task at 6, 9, and 12 months of age. For infant siblings of children with ASD, social differences during play were observed by 12 months of age and may inform ongoing monitoring and intervention efforts.
在生命的第一年，随着婴儿学会匹配社交伙伴的行为并根据他人的行为依次调节自己的行为，持续同步互动的能力逐渐发展。在这些早期社交基础能力的发展中遇到困难，可能会影响后期的语言技能、共同注意和情绪调节。对于自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）风险较高的儿童，早期的二元同步性和反应困难可能预示着ASD的出现和/或发育问题。作为一项前瞻性发育监测研究的一部分，患有ASD儿童的婴儿兄弟姐妹（高风险组n = 104）或发育正常的儿童（低风险组n = 71）及其母亲，在婴儿6、9和/或12个月大时完成了一项标准化的游戏任务。分别对这些互动中婴儿和母亲的注视频率和时长、积极情绪和发声进行了编码。利用这些编码，创建了理论驱动的综合指标来衡量二元同步性和婴儿/母亲的反应性。多层次模型显示，到12个月大时，高风险组和低风险组在二元同步性和婴儿反应性方面存在显著差异。此外，12个月大时二元同步性和婴儿反应性较高的高风险婴儿，在36个月时接受性和表达性语言得分显著更高。本研究结果表明，促进二元同步性和反应性可能有助于促进自闭症高风险儿童的最佳发育。通俗总结：在抚养患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的家庭中，年幼的兄弟姐妹存在社交沟通困难的风险更高。本研究探讨了在6、9和12个月大时的亲子游戏任务中，社交沟通差异是否明显。对于患有ASD儿童的婴儿兄弟姐妹，到12个月大时在游戏过程中观察到了社交差异，这可能为正在进行的监测和干预工作提供参考。
