A Prospective Case Series of High-risk Infants who Developed Autism

The present paper documents the development of autism/autistic spectrum disorder in a consecutive series of nine high-risk infants followed prospectively from 6 months of age. Evidence is provided for two broadly defined subgroups: the first subgroup (n = 6) showed a decrease in IQ between 12 and 24 or 36 months (from average/near average to severe cognitive impairment), whereas the second subgroup (n = 3) continued to obtain average or near average IQs. Signs of autism emerged and/or were more striking earlier in the first subgroup. In all nine children, early impairment in social-communicative development coexisted with atypical sensory and/or motor behaviors, as did a temperamental profile marked by irritability/distress and dysregulated state. Discussion focuses on issues raised by the pattern of findings.

[1]  G. Dawson,et al.  Practice parameter: Screening and diagnosis of autism , 2000, Neurology.

[2]  Eric Fombonne,et al.  Autism Spectrum Disorders: Early Detection, Intervention, Education, and Psychopharmacological Management , 2003, Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie.

[3]  A. Couteur,et al.  Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders , 1994, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[4]  S. Bryson,et al.  Impaired disengagement of attention in young children with autism. , 2004, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[5]  A. Meltzoff,et al.  Case Study of the Development of an Infant with Autism from Birth to Two Years of Age. , 2000, Journal of applied developmental psychology.

[6]  B. Leventhal,et al.  The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule—Generic: A Standard Measure of Social and Communication Deficits Associated with the Spectrum of Autism , 2000, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[7]  E. Goldson.  Educating Children with Autism , 2004 .

[8]  Pamela Flodman,et al.  Language and Other Regression: Assessment and Timing , 2003, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[9]  G. Lösche,et al.  Sensorimotor and action development in autistic children from infancy to early childhood. , 1990, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[10]  R. Landa,et al.  Development in infants with autism spectrum disorders: a prospective study. , 2006, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[11]  C. Lord,et al.  Regression and word loss in autistic spectrum disorders. , 2004, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[12]  N. Bayley.  Bayley Scales of Infant Development , 1999 .

[13]  Y Nagai,et al.  Parental perception of behavioral symptoms in Japanese autistic children , 1987, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[14]  P. Mundy.  Annotation: the neural basis of social impairments in autism: the role of the dorsal medial-frontal cortex and anterior cingulate system. , 2003, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[15]  Ruth A. Carper,et al.  Evidence of brain overgrowth in the first year of life in autism. , 2003, JAMA.

[16]  E. Fombonne,et al.  The epidemiology of autism: a review , 1999, Psychological Medicine.

[17]  J. Brian,et al.  Early Language and Communication Development of Infants Later Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder , 2006, Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP.

[18]  J. Brian,et al.  Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life , 2005, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience.

[19]  L. Wing.  Sex ratios in early childhood autism and related conditions , 1981, Psychiatry Research.

[20]  S. Rogers.  Empirically supported comprehensive treatments for young children with autism. , 1998, Journal of clinical child psychology.

[21]  J. Russell.  Autism as an executive disorder , 1997 .

[22]  J. Piven,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging and head circumference study of brain size in autism: birth through age 2 years. , 2005, Archives of general psychiatry.

[23]  C. Corsello,et al.  Combining information from multiple sources in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. , 2006, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[24]  Geraldine Dawson,et al.  Early recognition of 1-year-old infants with autism spectrum disorder versus mental retardation , 2002, Development and Psychopathology.

[25]  Susan E. Bryson,et al.  Brief report: Epidemiology of autism , 1996, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[26]  Tristram H. Smith,et al.  Challenges in Evaluating Psychosocial Interventions for Autistic Spectrum Disorders , 2005, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[27]  G. Dawson,et al.  Early Regression in Social Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A CPEA Study , 2005, Developmental neuropsychology.

[28]  S. Bryson,et al.  The early detection of autism in clinical practice. , 2004, Paediatrics & child health.

[29]  Measurement of Temperament in Infancy , 1981 .

[30]  G. Dawson,et al.  Early recognition of children with autism: A study of first birthday home videotapes , 1994, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[31]  J. Kagan,et al.  Infant temperament and anxious symptoms in school age children , 1999, Development and Psychopathology.

[32]  Jessica Brian,et al.  The Autism Observation Scale for Infants: Scale Development and Reliability Data , 2008, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[33]  M. Guralnick,et al.  The Effectiveness of Early Intervention. , 1997 .

[34]  Uta Frith,et al.  Theory of mind , 2001, Current Biology.

[35]  Fred R. Volkmar,et al.  Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders, 2nd ed. , 1997 .

[36]  F. Volkmar,et al.  Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders , 1987 .

[37]  V. Gallese.  Intentional attunement: A neurophysiological perspective on social cognition and its disruption in autism , 2006, Brain Research.

[38]  C. Barthélémy,et al.  Early symptoms in autism from family home movies. Evaluation and comparison between 1st and 2nd year of life using I.B.S.E. scale. , 1992, Acta paedopsychiatrica.

[39]  G. Baranek.  Autism During Infancy: A Retrospective Video Analysis of Sensory-Motor and Social Behaviors at 9–12 Months of Age , 1999, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[40]  John O. Willis,et al.  Mullen Scales of Early Learning: Ags Edition , 2008 .

[41]  S. Bryson,et al.  Studying the Emergence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in High-risk Infants: Methodological and Practical Issues , 2007, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[42]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  The mirror neuron system. , 2009, Archives of neurology.

[43]  C. Gillberg,et al.  Symptoms in the first two years of life , 1989, European archives of psychiatry and neurological sciences.

[44]  J. Brian,et al.  Stereotyped Motor Behaviors Associated with Autism in High-risk Infants: A Pilot Videotape Analysis of a Sibling Sample , 2007, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[45]  C. Lord,et al.  Sex differences in autism , 1982, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

[46]  S. Bryson,et al.  AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS: CAUSAL MECHANISMS AND RECENT FINDINGS ON ATTENTION AND EMOTION , 2004 .

[47]  E. Fombonne,et al.  Parental recognition of developmental abnormalities in autism , 1998, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

[48]  F. Volkmar,et al.  Autism in a 15-month-old child. , 2004, The American journal of psychiatry.

[49]  G. Baird,et al.  Research into Early Intervention for Children with Autism and Related Disorders: Methodological and Design Issues , 2003, Autism : the international journal of research and practice.

[50]  P. Szatmari.  Heterogeneity and the genetics of autism. , 1999, Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN.

[51]  J. Russell.  How executive disorders can bring about an inadequate 'theory of mind' , 1997 .