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Saturday, May 17, 2008
Champagne Terrace/Bordeaux (Novotel London West)
10:30 AM
Background: , abnormalities in language development and cognitive deficits have been reported in siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the extent of such impairment depending on the birth order is still unclear.
Objectives: , to explore cognitive and language development in siblings of children with ASD, and to compare younger and older siblings on all the measures.
Methods: , 36 siblings of children with ASD, between the ages of 2 years, 6 months and 15 years (x=8.67; SD=3.91) participated in this study. 72% (n=26) were older than the affected sibling, whereas 28% (n=10) were younger. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was administered to all participants. The IQ was estimated based on the administration of the WPPSI-III or WISC-III.The Social –Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) was used to assess autism-related symptoms; and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) as a measure of adaptive functioning.
Results: , PPVT scores were below normal limits (x=73.96; SD=38.49). On the contrary, IQ scores (FSIQ [x=91.52, SD=15.98], VIQ [x=94.08, SD=20.81], and PIQ [x=92.06, SD=12.73] were regarded as average. A more detailed analysis on the measures indicated that: 45% (n=16) exhibited language impairment (<79), while 28% (n=10) had borderline and intellectually deficient IQ scores (<79). In contrast, their adaptive functioning was within normal limits. Only 2.97% (n=1) had SCQ scores above 15. Younger siblings had poorer performance on the PPVT (U=0, p<0.001), and on the communication sub-domain of the VABS (U=58.500, p<0.01) when compared to older siblings.
Conclusions: , siblings of children with ASD might exhibit abnormal language development, which could be considered as features of the broader-autism phenotype. Although it has also been suggested that birth order could affect the language development of the unaffected siblings, the relationship between these variables remains unclear. These findings offer additional support for a familial association between ASD and language abnormalities.
Objectives: , to explore cognitive and language development in siblings of children with ASD, and to compare younger and older siblings on all the measures.
Methods: , 36 siblings of children with ASD, between the ages of 2 years, 6 months and 15 years (x=8.67; SD=3.91) participated in this study. 72% (n=26) were older than the affected sibling, whereas 28% (n=10) were younger. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was administered to all participants. The IQ was estimated based on the administration of the WPPSI-III or WISC-III.The Social –Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) was used to assess autism-related symptoms; and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) as a measure of adaptive functioning.
Results: , PPVT scores were below normal limits (x=73.96; SD=38.49). On the contrary, IQ scores (FSIQ [x=91.52, SD=15.98], VIQ [x=94.08, SD=20.81], and PIQ [x=92.06, SD=12.73] were regarded as average. A more detailed analysis on the measures indicated that: 45% (n=16) exhibited language impairment (<79), while 28% (n=10) had borderline and intellectually deficient IQ scores (<79). In contrast, their adaptive functioning was within normal limits. Only 2.97% (n=1) had SCQ scores above 15. Younger siblings had poorer performance on the PPVT (U=0, p<0.001), and on the communication sub-domain of the VABS (U=58.500, p<0.01) when compared to older siblings.
Conclusions: , siblings of children with ASD might exhibit abnormal language development, which could be considered as features of the broader-autism phenotype. Although it has also been suggested that birth order could affect the language development of the unaffected siblings, the relationship between these variables remains unclear. These findings offer additional support for a familial association between ASD and language abnormalities.