Pre-linguistic Vocal Trajectories at 6-18 Months of Age As Early Markers of Autism.
This study explores pre-linguistic vocal trajectories in infants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during caregiver-infant interaction. Home videos were obtained from 10 infants with ASD and 10 typically developing infants (TD), covering three time periods: 0-6 months (T1, 47 video sequences), 6-12 months (T2, 47 video sequences), and 12-18 months (T3, 48 video sequences). In total 142 video sequences were analyzed. Vocalizations, long reduplicated babbling, 2-syllable babbling, and first words were investigated longitudinally. Face-gazing was also analyzed, to evaluate the social quality of vocal behaviors. Results show a lower rate of vocalizations in the ASD group at T2, and a lower rate of first words at T3, compared to the TD group. However, the prevalence of non-social babbling, appeared higher in the ASD group. The implications of these findings for screening programs are discussed.
IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation Pisa, Italy.
Natasha
N
Chericoni
Nucleo Interdisciplinar de Intervenção Precoce da Bahia Bahia, Brazil.
Daniele
D
de Brito Wanderley
IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation Pisa, Italy.
Valeria
V
Costanzo
Nucleo Interdisciplinar de Intervenção Precoce da Bahia Bahia, Brazil.
Andréa
A
Diniz-Gonçalves
Service de Pédopsychiatrie- Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades Paris, France.
Marluce
M
Leitgel Gille
School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Erika
E
Parlato
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpérière, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de ParisParis, France; Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotiques, Université Pierre et Marie CurieParis, France.
David
D
Cohen
IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation Pisa, Italy.
Fabio
F
Apicella
IRCCS Stella Maris FoundationPisa, Italy; Stella Maris Mediterraneo FoundationChiaromonte, Italy.
Sara
S
Calderoni
IRCCS Stella Maris FoundationPisa, Italy; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of PisaPisa, Italy.
Filippo
F
Muratori
autism spectrum disorder; babbling; early language development; vocalizations