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Eye Tracking Young Children with Autism
Published on: March 27, 2012
Autism and head circumference in the first year of life
E Fuller Torrey1, Dawn Dhavale, John P Lawlor
1Stanley Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. torreyf@stanleyresearch.org
Insights
This study found that autistic children showed significantly larger body weight and length in infancy, not significantly larger head circumference. This suggests general body growth may be a key factor in early autism development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Background:
- Previous reports suggest smaller head circumference at birth in children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder.
- These reports also indicate disproportionately rapid head circumference increase during the first year of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate findings on head circumference in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- To investigate early growth patterns in infants diagnosed with autism.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 15 narrowly defined autistic children was analyzed.
- Approximately 40,000 non-autistic control subjects were used for comparison.
- Head circumference, body weight, and length were measured at birth and 4 months.
Main Results:
- Autistic children exhibited a slightly, but not statistically significant, larger head circumference at birth.
- At 4 months, head circumference in the autistic group was not significantly different from controls.
- Significantly greater body weight and length were observed in the autistic group at 4 months.
Conclusions:
- This study is the first to report significant general body growth in autistic children during infancy.
- The observed larger head circumference in autistic infants may be associated with excessive general growth patterns.
- Early general body growth, beyond head circumference, warrants further investigation in autism.
Background:
It has been reported that children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder have a significantly smaller head circumference at birth and that their head circumference then increases disproportionately rapidly in the first year of life.
Methods:
We attempted to replicate these findings using 15 narrowly defined autistic children from the National Collaborative Perinatal Project and approximately 40,000 nonautistic control subjects.
Results:
The autistic group had a slightly but not significantly larger head circumference at birth. At 4 months, the head circumference in the autistic group was not significantly larger than that of control subjects, but body weight and length were significantly larger in the autistic group.
Conclusions:
We believe this is the first report of significant general body growth in autistic children in infancy; the larger head circumference may be part of this excessive general growth.
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