Poster #15 - Early Social Communication and Motor Skills in Toddlers with a Family History of Autism

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

Background: An infant’s ability to interact with their environment in novel ways through motor coordination may have a cascading effect on the development of a broader skillset that is important for social development (West & Iverson, 2021). Joint attention, the ability to coordinate attention between two people and an object or event, is a key skill that emerges as infants learn to interact with their environment (Bruyneel, Demurie & Roeyers, 2019). Mastery of this skill relies on an infant’s ability to coordinate movement (e.g., sitting, grasping), without which infants may lack the ability to execute early social communication behaviors. While there is research that focuses on motor ability and communication more broadly, studying toddlers with and without a family history of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) offers a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between motor and social communication skills in a sample of children with a wider range of developmental abilities.
Objectives: This study will: 1) assess differences in early social communication and motor skills at 12 and 18 months based on ASD outcome and 2) examine correlations between early social communication and motor skills at 12 and 18 months across children with and without ASD outcomes.
Methods: Participants had at least one older sibling with ASD (n=52) or no known family history of ASD (n=35) and were classified as Typical (n=52), Atypical (n=13), or ASD (n=14) following an assessment at age 3. We focus on data from the 12- and 18-month visits. Fine and gross motor skills were measured using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Response to joint attention (RJA), initiating joint attention (IJA), and initiating behavioral requests (IBR) were measured via the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS; Mundy et al., 2003).
Results: 1) Outcome group differences were observed in fine but not gross motor skills at 12 and 18 months. Surprisingly, IJA did not differ among groups at either age, while IBR and RJA more clearly differed by outcome group (Table 1). 2) At 12 months, gross motor and fine motor skills were both positively correlated with RJA, but not IJA or IBR. At 18 months, only fine motor skills and RJA were correlated (Table 2).
Conclusions: Through the use of a detailed measure of early social communication skills and a standardized measure of developmental abilities, we examined outcome group differences and associations between three key social communication behaviors and fine and gross motor skills. While no significant relationships between the IBR and IJA scales and motor skills were observed, we found a relationship between RJA and motor skills. The lack of correlation between motor skills and early social initiating behaviors may be because these two domains rely on so many attributes, such as the social motivation to engage. The relationship between RJA and motor skills poses possible indications of early life differences in postural control or visuomotor coordination, leading to difficulty coordinating and following gaze. Findings support a potential role of motor skill variability in social-communication development.

Authors

• Emily Ward, University of California - Los Angeles
  Presenting Author

• Rujuta Wilson

• Nicole M McDonald, University of California - Los Angeles