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. 2013 Nov;16(6):815-27.
doi: 10.1111/desc.12069. Epub 2013 Aug 7.

Fine motor skill predicts expressive language in infant siblings of children with autism

Eve Sauer LeBarton  1 , Jana M Iverson
Affiliations

Fine motor skill predicts expressive language in infant siblings of children with autism

Eve Sauer LeBarton et al. Dev Sci. 2013 Nov.

Abstract

We investigated whether fine motor and expressive language skills are related in the later-born siblings of children with autism (heightened-risk, HR infants) who are at increased risk for language delays. We observed 34 HR infants longitudinally from 12 to 36 months. We used parent report and standardized observation measures to assess fine motor skill from 12 to 24 months in HR infants (Study 1) and its relation to later expressive vocabulary at 36 months in HR infants (Study 2). In Study 1, we also included 25 infants without a family history of autism to serve as a normative comparison group for a parent-report fine motor measure. We found that HR infants exhibited fine motor delays between 12 and 24 months and expressive vocabulary delays at 36 months. Further, fine motor skill significantly predicted expressive language at 36 months. Fine motor and expressive language skills are related early in development in HR infants, who, as a group, exhibit risk for delays in both. Our findings highlight the importance of considering fine motor skill in children at risk for language impairments and may have implications for early identification of expressive language difficulties.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
IOM Composite Scores for HR and LR Groups. Distribution of IOM Composite scores (range 0 – 7) for the LR group and HR group. The boxes in the graph represent the interquartile range for each group; the line in the middle of each box represents the median and the crosses represent the 10th and 90th percentiles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of HR-ND and HR-ASD subgroups at or below the LR 10th percentile. LR 10th percentile score for each measure: IOM Composite = 3, 12-month = 1.6, 18-month = 1.6, IOM Composite-Short = 1.6. Chance prediction is 10 percent of each group (dashed line). *p < .05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relation between FM Composite and EL Composite in the HR sample. Grey indicates HR-ASD group. Black indicates HR-ND group. 9 children (3 in HR-ASD group; 6 in HR-ND group) are not included because FM Composite and/or 36-month EL Composite data are unavailable.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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