Additive effects of social and non-social attention during infancy relate to later autism spectrum disorder.

ABSTRACT: Emerging findings from studies with infants at familial high risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), owing to an older sibling with a diagnosis, suggest that those who go on to develop ASD show early impairments in the processing of stimuli with both social and non-social content. Although ASD is defined by social-communication impairments and restricted and repetitive behaviours, the majority of cognitive theories of ASD posit a single underlying factor, which over development has secondary effects across domains. This is the first high-risk study to statistically differentiate theoretical models of the development of ASD in high-risk siblings using multiple risk factors. We examined the prediction of ASD outcome by attention to social and non-social stimuli: gaze following and attention

SUBMITTER: Bedford R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4253134 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature