Infants with autism: An investigation of empathy, pretend play, joint attention, and imitation.

Abstract

Systematic studies of infants with autism have not been previously carried out. Taking advantage of a new prospective screening instrument for autism in infancy (S. Baron-Cohen et al., 1996), the present study found that, compared with developmental^ delayed and normally developing children, 20-month-old children with autism were specifically impaired on some aspects of empathy, joint attention, and imitation. Infants with autism failed to use social gaze in the empathy and joint attention tasks. Both the infants with autism and the infants with developmental delay demonstrated functional play, but very few participants in either group produced spontaneous pretend play. In the developmental delay group, but not the autism group, pretend play was shown following prompting. The implications of these findings for developmental accounts of autism and for the early diagnosis of the disorder are discussed. Research into impaired social communication of children with autism has mostly been conducted with school-age children, adolescents, or young adults (for a review, see Baron-Cohen, Tager-Flusberg, & Cohen, 1993). However, theoretical accounts of the development of autism emphasize the role of various social, cognitive, and affective factors in infancy (e.g.,

Modeling early cortical serotonergic deficits in autism

“…Some have hypothesized that altered perception and sensory-motor processing may, in fact, be at the root of altered social behaviors [5,25,92,122]. This idea may be further supported by studies showing that early multi-modal sensorimotor stimulation can ameliorate core deficits in children with autism [69].…”

A short-term longitudinal study of correlates and sequelae of attachment security in autism

“…Such early-emerging behavioral responses to another person’s distress have been found to be developmentally linked with later expressions of empathy (Hutman & Dapretto, 2009; Zahn-Waxler, Radke-Yarrow, Wagner, & Chapman, 1992) and thus represent a good proximal domain for an initial exploration of the developmental consequences of attachment security in autism. A focus on empathy is further motivated by previous studies indicating that preschool-age children with autism (Dawson et al, 2004; Sigman et al, 1992) as well as infants and toddlers (Charman et al, 1997; Hutman et al, 2010) are less attuned to the displays of distress of others and are less likely to engage in comforting behaviors when compared to typically developing children.…”

Language outcomes of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders: a two year follow‐up

“…Most studies of symptoms of ASD in children under the age of two are based on parental retrospective reports [Klin, Volkmar, & Sparrow, 1992;Volkmar, Stier, & Cohen, 1985], and retrospective analyses of videotaped materials [Baranek, 1999;Maestro et al, 2002;Osterling, Dawson, & Munson, 2002], with only a few studies relying on direct observations [e.g., Charman et al, 1997;Lord et al, 2000;Watt et al, 2006;Wetherby et al, 2007]. These studies converge on several findings.…”

“…These studies converge on several findings. Symptoms are seen primarily in the expression of preverbal social communication, including difficulties in the use of gaze and conventional gestures for communicative purposes [e.g., Baron-Cohen, Cox, & Baird, 1996;Charman et al, 1997;Lord, 1995;Mundy, Sigman, Ungerer, & Sherman, 1987;Swettenham et al, 1998] and reduced expression of communicative intentions-especially joint attention [e.g., Dawson et al, 2004;Wetherby et al, 2004]. Other communication impairments include limited responsivity to speech, delayed emergence of spoken language, and the use of other's body as a tool [Lord, 1995].…”

“…Other communication impairments include limited responsivity to speech, delayed emergence of spoken language, and the use of other's body as a tool [Lord, 1995]. Differences are also seen in play and imitation [Charman, Swettenham, & Baron-Cohen, 2000;Charman et al, 1997;Cox et al, 1999aCox et al, , 1999bDawson et al, 2004;Sigman and Ungerer, 1984;Stone et al, 1999aStone et al, , 1999b. Stereotypic behaviors such as hand and finger mannerisms and unusual sensory behaviors may be present, but are often manifest only intermittently or with low intensity [Cox et al, 1999a[Cox et al, , 1999bLord, 1995;Stone et al, 1999aStone et al, , 1999b.…”