Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders: Play behaviors with infant siblings and social responsiveness.
A J Schwichtenberg, Ashleigh M Kellerman, Gregory S Young and 2 others
PMID 29950114WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers raising infants at risk for autism showed no clear difference in play behaviors or questionnaire scores from other mothers.
Their positive affect and combined looks, sounds, and smiles were linked to infants' social behaviors.
Key findings
01High-risk mothers did not differ from low-risk mothers on questionnaire scores or on looks to face, positive affect, and vocalizations during play at 6, 9, or 12 months.
02Partner-reported questionnaire scores were not associated with observed maternal play behaviors at 6, 9, or 12 months.
03Maternal positive affect and multimodal bids were linked with infant positive affect, looks to face, vocalizations, and multimodal bids or responses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was observational, so it cannot show that maternal behavior caused infant behavior. Coders analyzed only 3 minutes of play with a standard toy bin, so it may not capture everyday interaction. Most questionnaire scores were in the normal range, so this study could not test links between higher scores and play behavior. Too few fathers were included, so findings apply to mothers only. A lack of significant differences does not prove the groups are equivalent.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not state author conflicts. The paper is marked as supported by NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that parent-mediated interventions are proven to improve infant social behavior by increasing maternal positive affect or combined bids. The study observed associations during play and did not test an intervention.