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Fine motor skill predicts expressive language in infant siblings of children with autism

Eve Sauer LeBarton1, Jana M Iverson

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, USA.

Developmental Science
|October 15, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Fine motor delays in high-risk infants predict later expressive language difficulties. Early assessment of fine motor skills may aid in identifying children prone to language impairments.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

  • Children with autism often experience language delays.
  • Later-born siblings of children with autism (high-risk infants) have an increased risk for developmental delays, including language impairments.
  • The relationship between fine motor skills and expressive language development in these infants is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between fine motor skills and expressive language development in high-risk infants.
  • To determine if fine motor delays predict later expressive language delays in this population.
  • To compare fine motor skills in high-risk infants to a normative group.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal observation of 34 high-risk infants from 12 to 36 months.
  • Assessment of fine motor skills using parent reports and standardized measures from 12 to 24 months.
  • Evaluation of expressive vocabulary at 36 months.

Main Results:

  • High-risk infants showed delays in fine motor skills between 12 and 24 months.
  • These infants also exhibited expressive vocabulary delays at 36 months.
  • Fine motor skill at earlier ages significantly predicted expressive language outcomes at 36 months.

Conclusions:

  • Fine motor and expressive language skills are interconnected early in development for high-risk infants.
  • High-risk infants, as a group, are susceptible to delays in both fine motor and expressive language domains.
  • Considering fine motor skill is crucial for the early identification of potential language impairments in at-risk children.

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