Reciprocity in interaction: a window on the first year of life in autism

Abstract

From early infancy onwards, young children appear motivated to engage reciprocally with others and share psychological states during dyadic interactions. Although poor reciprocity is one of the defining features of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), few studies have focused on the direct assessment of real-life reciprocal behavior; consequently, our knowledge of the nature and the development of this core feature of autism is still limited. In this study, we describe the phenomenon of reciprocity in infant-caregiver interaction by analyzing family movies taken during the first year of life of 10 infants with ASD and 9 infants with typical development (TD). We analyzed reciprocal behaviors by means of a coding scheme developed for this purpose (caregiver-infant reciprocity scale (CIRS)). Infants with ASD displayed less motor activity during the first semester and subsequently fewer vocalizations, compared to TD infants. Caregivers of ASD infants showed in the second semester shorter periods of involvement and a reduction of affectionate touch. These results suggest that from the first months of life a nonsynchronic motor-vocal pattern may interfere in different ways with the development of reciprocity in the primary relationship between infants later diagnosed with ASD and their caregivers.

Figure 1

Trajectories of infant's responsiveness versus caregiver's involvement. (a) Trajectories (from T1 to T2) of infant's responsiveness (b) and caregiver's involvement (c). TD infants increase their responsiveness from T1 to T2 while in infants with ASD responsiveness remains stable. Caregivers of infants with ASD tend to decrease the time they spend in involvement. (b), (c) Means and standard deviations (error bars). **P ≤ 0.01; *P ≤ 0.05.

Figure 2

Trajectories of infant's total motor activity versus infant's vocalizations. (a) Trajectories (from T1 to T2) of total motor activity (b) and vocalizations total (c). Infants with ASD compared to TD infants show a reduced rate/min of motor activity at T1 and a reduced rate/min of vocalizations at T2. (b), (c) Means and standard deviations (error bars). **P ≤ 0.01; *P ≤ 0.05.

Figure 3

Trajectories of caregiver's affectionate touch verses caregiver's stimulating gestures. (a) Trajectories (from T1 to T2) of affectionate touch (b) and stimulating gestures (c). In the transition from T1 to T2, caregivers of infants with ASD compared to caregivers of TD infants show a significant reduction of affectionate touch, whereas the rate/min of stimulating gestures increases. (b), (c) Means and standard deviations (error bars). **P ≤ 0.01; *P ≤ 0.05.