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Differences in object sharing between infants at risk for autism and typically developing infants from 9 to 15 months

Sudha M Srinivasan1, Anjana N Bhat2

  • 1Department of Physical Therapy, Biomechanics and Movement Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.

Infant Behavior & Development
|January 25, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Infants at risk for autism (AR) showed fewer object sharing skills when walking compared to typically developing (TD) infants. This difference was not seen at crawling age, suggesting object sharing may aid early autism identification.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Infant Behavior

Background:

  • Early detection of developmental differences is crucial for timely intervention in infants.
  • Object sharing is a key social-communicative behavior emerging in infancy.
  • Locomotor development may influence the emergence of social interaction skills.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare object sharing abilities between infants at risk for autism (AR) and typically developing (TD) infants.
  • To investigate the impact of infant locomotor abilities (crawling vs. walking) on object sharing.
  • To determine if object sharing can serve as an early indicator for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Main Methods:

  • A comparative observational study involving 16 AR infants and 16 TD infants aged 9-15 months.
  • Infants were assessed during an object sharing paradigm at both crawling and walking developmental stages.
  • Key behaviors recorded included giving, approaches to caregivers, and directed steps towards targets.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in object sharing were observed between AR and TD infants at the crawling stage.
  • Walking AR infants exhibited significantly lower rates of object sharing, including giving and approaching caregivers, compared to walking TD infants.
  • Walking AR infants showed reduced directed stepping towards caregivers and objects.

Conclusions:

  • Locomotor development, specifically walking, appears to be a critical period for observing differences in object sharing in infants at risk for ASD.
  • Object sharing behaviors in walking infants may provide valuable insights for the early identification of potential developmental delays associated with autism spectrum disorder.
  • The findings highlight the importance of considering motor milestones when assessing social-communicative skills in early development.

Keywords:
At-risk infantsAutism spectrum disorderLocomotionObject sharingPerceptuo-motor impairmentsSocial impairments

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