title: Early gross motor skills predict the subsequent development of language in children with autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Motor milestones such as the onset of walking are important developmental markers, not only for later motor skills but also for more widespread social-cognitive development. The aim of the current study was to test whether gross motor abilities, specifically the onset of walking, predicted the subsequent rate of language development in a large cohort of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
  
  
  
  We ran growth curve models for expressive and receptive language measured at 2, 3, 5 and 9 years in 209 autistic children. Measures of gross motor, visual reception and autism symptoms were collected at the 2 year visit. In Model 1, walking onset was included as a predictor of the slope of language development. Model 2 included a measure of non-verbal IQ and autism symptom severity as covariates. The final model, Model 3, additionally covaried for gross motor ability.
  
  
  
  In the first model, parent-reported age of walking onset significantly predicted the subsequent rate of language development although the relationship became non-significant when gross motor skill, non-verbal ability and autism severity scores were included (Models 2 & 3). Gross motor score, however, did remain a significant predictor of both expressive and receptive language development.
  
  
  
  Taken together, the model results provide some evidence that early motor abilities in young children with ASD can have longitudinal cross-domain influences, potentially contributing, in part, to the linguistic difficulties that characterise ASD. Autism Res 2016, 9: 993-1001. © 2015 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research.
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. rachael.bedford@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bedford
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pickles
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lord
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: autism spectrum disorder; language development; walking