Development
Early thinking and motor skills in babies at risk for autism
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Babies with a family history of autism show slower development in early thinking skills, such as holding information in mind and self-control, during early childhood.
Key findings
At 12 months, there were no significant differences in working memory or self-control among the groups. However, by 24 months, both high-risk infants who developed autism and those who did not performed significantly worse on these cognitive tasks than low-risk infants. Additionally, the study found that motor skills were linked to these cognitive abilities, but the relationship differed by group and age, with fine motor skills predicting worse self-control at 12 months specifically for infants who later developed autism.
Methodology
Researchers tracked 186 high-risk infants and 76 low-risk infants at 12 and 24 months of age. They evaluated the infants' early executive functions, specifically working memory and response inhibition, using an object-hiding game called the A-not-B task. The researchers also measured the infants' fine and gross motor skills to examine how physical development relates to early thinking skills.
Limitations
This study cannot prove that early cognitive or motor differences cause autism, as the relationships observed are purely correlational. Because final diagnoses were established when infants were 24 months old, the study may have misclassified some children who would go on to receive an autism diagnosis at older ages. Additionally, the researchers relied on a hand-based task to measure early thinking skills, which might not capture the full range of an infant's cognitive abilities. Finally, a significant portion of infants failed to complete the task due to testing issues, limiting the completeness of the data.
How this study connects
Role on claims
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Children with specific neurodevelopmental risks, such as a family history of autism or agenesis of the corpus callosum, demonstrate notable delays or challenges in tasks requiring inhibitory control.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
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