title: Neuropsychological functioning of siblings of children with autism, siblings of children with developmental language delay, and siblings of children with mental retardation of unknown genetic etiology.
abstract: Neuropsychological functioning of 30 siblings of children with autism (AU-S), 28 siblings of children with mental retardation of (MR-S), and 30 siblings of children with developmental language delay (DLD-S) was compared. Two siblings, both AU-S, received diagnoses of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). More siblings with cognitive disabilities were found in DLD-S than in AU-S. However, these differences disappeared after excluding diagnosed siblings or after accounting for family membership. In sum, despite the elevated incidence of PDD among AU-S, the neuropsychological functioning of the remaining siblings did not convey specific characteristics related to the genetic risk associated with autism, in contrast to the cognitive functioning of the DLD-S, which did reflect a genetic risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel. tam@netvision.net.il
authors.forename: Tammy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pilowsky
authors.forename: Nurit
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yirmiya
authors.forename: Varda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gross-Tsur
authors.forename: Ruth S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Shalev
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D035781:Siblings