Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life

In the interest of more systematically documenting the early signs of autism, and of testing specific hypotheses regarding their underlying neurodevelopmental substrates, we have initiated a longitudinal study of high-risk infants, all of whom have an older sibling diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder. Our sample currently includes 150 infant siblings, including 65 who have been followed to age 24 months, who are the focus of this paper. We have also followed a comparison group of low-risk infants. Our measures include a novel observational scale (the first, to our knowledge, that is designed to assess autism-specific behavior in infants), a computerized visual orienting task, and standardized measures…

• AR
  Autism Research Institute
• HF
  Hospital for Sick Children
• CI
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research