Social Engagement in At-Risk Infant Girls May Lessen Risk for Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Accelerated maturation of visual attention to social interactions in infant girls at high risk for autism was associated with less social impairment at 2 years.

Girls are four times less likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than boys. Eye-tracking studies of infants who develop ASD show atypical patterns of social orienting beginning at 6 months of age. To assess whether boys and girls differ in the ability to visually attend to socially relevant stimuli during early stages of ASD, researchers studied 101 infants at high genetic risk for ASD (defined as having a sibling with ASD) and 61 low-risk controls (no familial history of ASD).

Infants were evaluated at 6, 9, and 12 months of age with a standardized visual tracking technique designed to quantify social orientation to dynamic cartoon figures. High-risk girls spent significantly more time looking at social scenes and the fa…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics