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Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
The broad autism phenotype predicts child functioning in autism spectrum disorders
Christina R Maxwell1, Julia Parish-Morris, Olivia Hsin
1Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3535 Market Street, Suite 860, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. christina.r.maxwell@gmail.com.
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
|September 24, 2013
Summary
Parental broad autism phenotype (BAP) traits are linked to increased autism symptoms in children. This association was observed in families with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children (TDC), suggesting BAP and social responsiveness scales capture subclinical variations.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Genetics and Genomics
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Broad autism phenotype (BAP) represents milder social and communication impairments related to autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
- Previous research focused on BAP in relatives of ASD probands, leaving the link between parental BAP traits and child symptomatology unclear.
- This study investigates the relationship between parental BAP traits and child autism symptomatology in families with ASD and typically developing children (TDC).
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the correlation between parental Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) scores and child Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores in families with ASD.
- To investigate this relationship in families with typically developing children (TDC) as an extension of prior research.
- To determine if parental BAP traits predict autism symptomatology in children.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 245 children with ASD, 129 TDC, and their parents.
- Utilized the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) for parents and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) for children.
- Confirmed ASD diagnoses using ADI-R, ADOS, and clinical judgment; used average parent BAPQ scores (self and informant reports).
Main Results:
- Parents of children with ASD exhibited higher BAP traits than parents of TDC.
- Maternal and paternal BAPQ scores significantly predicted variance in child SRS scores in both ASD (17.1%) and TDC (19.8%) families.
- 10% of mothers and 21% of fathers in the ASD group scored above the BAP threshold, compared to 4% of TDC parents.
Conclusions:
- Parental broad autism symptomatology is moderately associated with child autism symptomatology.
- The BAPQ and SRS effectively capture subtle, subclinical social variations in both children and adults, extending to TDC families.
- Findings may inform future phenotypic and genetic studies on multi-generational social impairments.
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