Motor atypicalities in infancy are associated with general developmental level at 2 years, but not autistic symptoms.

The final analysis used 58 infants and 419 reaches after 35 of 118 infants were excluded for missing data or technical problems, so the study had limited power. The infants were selected by family likelihood, not by later diagnosis, and diagnostic outcome data at 36 months were not available. Only successful reaches were analysed, so missed attempts or no attempts were not included. Motor measures were taken only at 10 months, so the study cannot tell whether the elevated-likelihood pattern was delayed or atypical development. The motor variables are closely related, so peak velocity, distance travelled, and movement units are not independent findings. The association with general development was unexpected, and the authors state it should be interpreted cautiously.

The authors reported no conflict of interest related to this article. One author disclosed acting as an author, consultant, or lecturer for several companies in the last 5 years and receiving royalties for textbooks and diagnostic tools. Funding came from the EU-MSCA Initial Training Network, the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Swedish Research Council.

Do not read the reaching differences as evidence that an infant will develop autism. The study found no association between the 10-month motor measures and autistic symptoms at 24 months, and the differences were subtle in a small group selected by family history rather than diagnosis.