Analysis of Social Interaction Gestures in Infants with Autism

Abstract

This study analyzes the emergent use of gestures used among 9-12-month-old infants with autism and typical development using retrospective video analysis. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the frequency, initiation, prompting, and diversity of types of gestures used for social interaction purposes. It was hypothesized that a restricted variety in type(s) of gestures as well as fewer child-initiated gestures and more prompted gestures would be associated with later diagnosis of autism. Logistic regression analysis found that decreased variety in type of gestures used was significantly associated with autism status. Neither number of total gestures nor initiation of gestures (child-initiated vs. prompted) was significantly associated with autism status.

Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Recommendations for Practice and Research

“…Other studies, which have also included outcome measures, suggest that there may be differences during the age range of 6 to 12 months in social attention (social gaze or orienting to name being called), 32,74 atypical sensory behaviors, 32 repetitive or otherwise atypical motor behaviors, and nonverbal communication (differences in gesture use). 77 Additional similar studies during the first 6 months of life have suggested differences in responding to social stimuli 72 and "at least some suggestion of" more difficult temperaments, characterized by marked irritability, intolerance to intrusions, and being prone to distress/negative affect. 32 Jones and Klin 18 recently completed a landmark study that incorporated eye-tracking technology to assess a high-risk sibling sample.…”

“…Table 2 summarizes studies in which emerging markers over the first 12 months of life were assessed. 22,32,38,45,46,48,49,[71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78] Some researchers reported no behavioral differences at the age of 6 months in social communication behaviors 22 or in language or motor development 49,66 between infants who were later diagnosed with ASD and those with a later diagnosis of typical development. Other studies, which have also included outcome measures, suggest that there may be differences during the age range of 6 to 12 months in social attention (social gaze or orienting to name being called), 32,74 atypical sensory behaviors, 32 repetitive or otherwise atypical motor behaviors, and nonverbal communication (differences in gesture use).…”

Intact emotion facilitation for nonsocial stimuli in autism: Is amygdala impairment in autism specific for social information?

“…Behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging studies in autism consistently demonstrate deficits in the building blocks for social interaction, such as impaired recognition and memory for facial and vocal expressions (Golan et al, 2006;Humphreys et al, 2007;Paul et al, 2005); reduced use and recognition of emotionally salient aspects of imitation and gesture (Colgan et al, 2006;Hobson & Meyer, 2005); and limited consideration of others' mental states in joint attention or theory of mind tasks (Baron-Cohen et al, 1999;Rutherford et al, 2006).…”

Challenges and opportunities in early identification and intervention for children at-risk for autism spectrum disorders

“…Retrospective video analysis by our research team has demonstrated signifi cant differences between infants later diagnosed with ASD or other types of DD in joint attention gestures between 9 -12 months, and joint attention and social interaction gestures between 15 -18 months. In addition, less variety of social interaction gestures was seen in 9 -12 month olds later diagnosed with ASD (Colgan et al, 2006). The work of Wetherby et al (2007) similarly indicates toddlers with ASD communicate less than toddlers with other DD for the function of joint attention.…”

“…In this work, we have used both retrospective home video analysis (Colgan et al, 2006;Poon, Watson, Baranek, & Poe, 2012;Watson, Crais, Baranek, Dykstra, & Wilson, 2013) and prospective studies Turner-Brown, Baranek, Reznick, Watson, & Crais, 2013). Our retrospective work has documented different gesture trajectories across 9 -18 months in infants who later were diagnosed with ASD or other disabilities .…”