Physical Therapy Department, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA.
Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 10;20(2):1234. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021234.
The purpose of this study was to examine the development of sitting postural control among two groups of infants at elevated risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a group of infants at typical risk for ASD and its association with cognitive, language and communication skills at a later age. We visited infants in their home environment from the onset of sitting until sitting independence and at 12 and 18 months of age. We collected data on sitting posture (center of pressure), through a portable force platform, as well as communication, cognitive and social behavior assessments at various time points. Our results showed that postural control differences at the onset of sitting, were present among the groups of infants but there were no statistically significant differences among the groups in the development of sitting posture. In addition, there were statistically significant communication differences among the groups and mostly the change in sample entropy in the anterior/posterior direction (posture measure) was significantly correlated with other skills at a later age. This study highlights the importance of investigating multiple at-risk groups to identify unique developmental pathways that may lead to an ASD diagnosis.
本研究旨在考察两组具有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）高风险的婴儿和一组具有 ASD 低风险的婴儿的坐姿姿势控制的发展情况，及其与日后认知、语言和交流技能的关系。我们从婴儿开始坐立到独坐再到 12 个月和 18 个月时，在家庭环境中对婴儿进行了访问。我们通过便携式测力平台收集了坐姿姿势（压力中心）以及在不同时间点的沟通、认知和社会行为评估的数据。我们的结果表明，在坐姿开始时，三组婴儿的姿势控制存在差异，但在坐姿姿势的发展过程中，三组婴儿之间没有统计学上的显著差异。此外，三组婴儿在沟通方面存在统计学上的显著差异，而且在前后方向（姿势测量）的样本熵变化与日后其他技能显著相关。这项研究强调了调查多个高危群体以确定可能导致 ASD 诊断的独特发育途径的重要性。
