Mid-Childhood Outcomes of Infant Siblings at Familial High-Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mid-Childhood Outcomes of Infant Siblings at Familial High-Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

AU - Shephard, Elizabeth

AU - Milosavljevic, Bosiljka

AU - Pasco, Gregory

AU - Jones, Emily

AU - Gliga, Teodora

AU - Happe, Francesca Gabrielle Elizabeth

AU - Johnson, Mark H.

AU - Charman, Tony

PY - 2016/11/29

Y1 - 2016/11/29

N2 - Almost one-in-five infants at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), due to having an older sibling withan ASD diagnosis, develop ASD themselves by age 3 years. Less is known about the longer-term outcomes of high-riskinfants. To address this issue, we examined symptoms of ASD and associated developmental conditions (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); anxiety), language, IQ, and adaptive behaviour at age 7 years in high- and low-risk children studied from infancy. We compared outcomes between high-risk children who met criteria for ASD at age7, high-risk children without ASD, and low-risk control children. Diagnostic stability between 3 and 7 years was moder-ate. High-risk siblings with ASD showed elevated levels of ADHD and anxiety symptoms and lower adaptive behaviourthan low-risk control children. High-risk siblings without ASD had higher repetitive behaviours, lower adaptive func-tioning, and elevated scores on one anxiety subscale (Separation Anxiety) compared to low-risk controls. The findingsindicate that the difficulties experienced by high-risk siblings at school age extend beyond ASD symptoms. Betterunderstanding of these difficulties may improve models of the development of co-occurring problems seen in childrenwith ASD.

AB - Almost one-in-five infants at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), due to having an older sibling withan ASD diagnosis, develop ASD themselves by age 3 years. Less is known about the longer-term outcomes of high-riskinfants. To address this issue, we examined symptoms of ASD and associated developmental conditions (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); anxiety), language, IQ, and adaptive behaviour at age 7 years in high- and low-risk children studied from infancy. We compared outcomes between high-risk children who met criteria for ASD at age7, high-risk children without ASD, and low-risk control children. Diagnostic stability between 3 and 7 years was moder-ate. High-risk siblings with ASD showed elevated levels of ADHD and anxiety symptoms and lower adaptive behaviourthan low-risk control children. High-risk siblings without ASD had higher repetitive behaviours, lower adaptive func-tioning, and elevated scores on one anxiety subscale (Separation Anxiety) compared to low-risk controls. The findingsindicate that the difficulties experienced by high-risk siblings at school age extend beyond ASD symptoms. Betterunderstanding of these difficulties may improve models of the development of co-occurring problems seen in childrenwith ASD.

U2 - 10.1002/aur.1733

DO - 10.1002/aur.1733

M3 - Article

SN - 1939-3792

JO - Autism research

JF - Autism research

ER -