The experience of touch is critical for early communication and social interaction; infants who show aversion to touch may be at risk for atypical development and behavior problems. The current study aimed to clarify predictive associations between infant responses to tactile stimuli and toddler autism spectrum, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors. This study measured 9-month-old infants’ (N = 561; 58% male) avoidance and negative affect during a novel tactile task in which parents painted infants’ hands and feet and pressed them to paper to make a picture. Parent reports on the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP), Internalizing, and Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist were used to measure toddler behaviors at 18 months. Infant observed avoidance and negative affect were significantly correlated; however, avoidance predicted subsequent PDP scores only, independent of negative affect, which did not predict any toddler behaviors. Findings suggest that incorporating measures of responses to touch in the study of early social interaction may provide an important and discriminating construct for identifying children at greater risk for social impairments related to autism spectrum behaviors.

This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a telehealth diagnostic model deployed at an autism center in the southwestern United States to safely provide autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic evaluations to children, adolescents, and adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included all clients for whom a telehealth diagnostic evaluation was scheduled at the diagnostic clinic (n = 121) over a 6-month period. Of 121 scheduled clients, 102 (84%) completed the telehealth evaluation. A diagnostic determination was made for 91% of clients (93 out of 102) using only telehealth procedures. Nine participants (two females; ages 3 to 11 years) required an in-person evaluation. Responses from psychologist and parent acceptability surveys indicated the model was acceptable for most clients. Psychologist ratings suggested that telehealth modalities used in the current study may be less acceptable for evaluating school-aged children with subtle presentations compared to children in the early developmental period, adolescents, and adults. Parents of females reported higher acceptability than parents of males. Findings contribute to the small but growing literature on feasibility and acceptability of telehealth evaluations for ASD and have implications for improving access to care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lay SummaryThis study described telehealth methods for evaluating children, adolescents, and adults for autism spectrum disorder. Telehealth methods were generally acceptable to psychologists conducting the evaluations and parents of diagnostic clients. Psychologists reported the methods to be less acceptable for school-aged children and parents of males found the methods less acceptable than parents of females. The telehealth methods described may help to increase access to diagnostic professionals and reduce wait times for evaluations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Touch is the primary modality infants use to engage with the world; atypical responses to tactile stimuli may indicate risk for disordered outcomes. The current study examined infants’ responses to tactile stimulation within parent-child interaction, adding to prior knowledge based on parent report. Nine-month-old infants (N = 497) were observed while parents painted and pressed infants’ hands and feet to paper to make designs. Positive and negative affect and gazing away, exploring, and resistance behaviors were coded. Latent Class Analysis of observed behaviors yielded four tactile response patterns partially consistent with current nosology for sensory processing patterns: Low Reactive, Sensory Overreactive, Sensory Seeking, and Mixed Over/Underreactive. To evaluate whether patterns made valid distinctions among infants, latent classes were examined in relation to parent-reported temperament. Infants in the Mixed Over/Underreactive class were rated higher in distress to limitations and activity level than other infants. Sensory processing patterns observed in parent-child interaction are consistent with those identified by parent-report and may be used in future research to elucidate relations with temperament and typical and atypical development.

Children exposed to parent conflict may be at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders by becoming sensitized to conflict cues in their environments. This study explored possible precursors to negative child outcomes associated with parent conflict by examining the relation between parent conflict and infants' (N = 36; 23-42 weeks; 44% female) behavioral sensitivity to general sensory stimuli (e.g., loud noises, physical touch). To determine whether infants' characteristic autonomic arousal and regulation moderated this association, infant baseline skin conductance (SC) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were measured. Parents reported levels of parent conflict, and mothers reported infants' behavioral sensory sensitivity. The association between parent conflict and lower threshold for sensory sensitivity was strongest for infants with higher physiological arousal (higher SC) and lesser capacity for physiological regulation (lower RSA). Children may become more sensitive to environmental stimuli as a function of parent conflict during infancy, though this appears to depend on characteristic physiological arousal and regulation.

Exercise may be associated with increased positive emotion and, in turn, can have great potential to improve family relationships during the postpartum period when marital stress normatively increases, particularly for mothers with more than 1 child. Future longitudinal studies are needed to understand exercise patterns across the postpartum period to identify the most effective timing and optimal level of exercise that lead to more positive expressive behaviors.