Continuity in Social Communication Development Among School-Aged Siblings of Autistic Children.

Prospective studies of later born siblings of autistic individuals often focus on predicting autism diagnosis. Studies concentrating on siblings who do not develop autism have found subclinical atypicalities in some children as early as the first year of life. However, when followed to school-age, t...

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Publicado en:Developmental Psychology Vol. 62; no. 3; pp. 678 - 693
Autores principales: Gangi, Devon N., Iosif, Ana-Maria, Maqbool, Shyeena, Hill, Monique M., Parikh, Chandni, Young, Gregory S., Ozonoff, Sally
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: American Psychological Association Mar2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2026
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      pub: American Psychological Association
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        10.1037/dev0002025
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        atl: Continuity in Social Communication Development Among School-Aged Siblings of Autistic Children.
      aug:
        au:
          Gangi, Devon N.
          Iosif, Ana-Maria
          Maqbool, Shyeena
          Hill, Monique M.
          Parikh, Chandni
          Young, Gregory S.
          Ozonoff, Sally
        affil:
          Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MIND Institute, University of California, Davis
          Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Biostatistics, University of California, Davis
      su:
        Adolescent development
        Communicative competence
        Autism in children
        Attention
        Child development
        Social skills
        Academic achievement
        Psychological tests
        Interpersonal relations
        Cognition
        Social participation
        Asperger's syndrome in children
        Poisson distribution
        Research funding
        Sample size (Statistics)
        Maximum likelihood statistics
        Descriptive statistics
        Longitudinal method
        Latent structure analysis
        Theory of mind
        Confidence intervals
        Data analysis software
      sug:
        subj:
          Adolescent development
          Communicative competence
          Autism in children
          Attention
          Child development
          Social skills
          Academic achievement
          Psychological tests
          Interpersonal relations
          Cognition
          Social participation
          Asperger's syndrome in children
          Poisson distribution
          Research funding
          Sample size (Statistics)
          Maximum likelihood statistics
          Descriptive statistics
          Longitudinal method
          Latent structure analysis
          Theory of mind
          Confidence intervals
          Data analysis software
      keyword:
        development
        school-age
        siblings
        social communication
        development
        school-age
        siblings
        social communication
      ab: Prospective studies of later born siblings of autistic individuals often focus on predicting autism diagnosis. Studies concentrating on siblings who do not develop autism have found subclinical atypicalities in some children as early as the first year of life. However, when followed to school-age, the continuity of these findings has been mixed. We tracked nonautistic siblings (n = 151 higher familial likelihood of autism, n = 115 lower likelihood) longitudinally from infancy to 6–16 years of age when participants completed a battery of social communication measures (parent report and direct observation/administration). Using latent profile analysis, we derived groupings based on patterns of performance across measures. Three groups were identified: Class 1 (45.5%), Class 2 (45.2%), and Class 3 (9.3%)—characterized by higher, intermediate, and lower school-age social communication abilities, respectively. We then examined the performance of these classes on independent measures of pragmatic language, reciprocal social interaction, and cognition. Class 3 demonstrated social communication differences that were most evident with novel interactive partners (e.g., examiners) and scored lower on IQ and academic achievement measures, indicating that social communication differences captured by the latent profile analysis were part of a broader pattern of developmental differences. Using data collected in the first 3 years of life, we found that the school-age classes began showing differences by 12–18 months of age—evidence of continuity between early behavior and later development. Findings suggest that when early childhood challenges are observed in siblings of autistic children, even those not meeting criteria for autism, they should be monitored over time and additional support offered as needed. Public Significance Statement: This study followed siblings at elevated and lower likelihood of autism from infancy to 6–16 years of age to understand their social communication development. Three groups of nonautistic siblings were identified at school-age—with higher, intermediate, and lower social communication abilities—and began showing differences in development by 12–18 months of age. Findings highlight continuity of behavior and development over time, indicating that siblings of autistic children should be monitored for challenges and offered support, when needed, as early as possible.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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