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ERIC Number: EJ1465525
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Feb
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: EISSN-1461-7005
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Can Combining Existing Behavioral Tools Improve Identification of Infants at Elevated Likelihood of Autism in the First Year of Life?
Meagan R. Talbott1; Gregory S. Young1; Sally Ozonoff1
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v29 n2 p462-475 2025
Identifying infants at elevated likelihood for autism and other developmental differences in the first year of life remains a significant challenge. This study explored associations between behavioral differences in infancy and developmental outcomes in toddlerhood. We conducted a secondary data analysis of 256 infants with an older autistic sibling followed from 6 to 36 months of age. We defined conceptually driven cutoffs for three behavioral measures collected at 6, 9, and 12 months and examined the utility of these measures, individually and in combination, in predicting 36-month outcome classification (typical development or developmental concerns, including autism). Overall, relatively few infants met multiple measure definitions (range: 5 to 43 infants across ages). However, infants meeting multiple definitions had a higher likelihood of developmental concerns outcomes at all ages. Positive predictive values for meeting all three measure definitions combined ranged from 0.67 [0.22, 0.96] at 6 months to 0.95 [0.75, 1.0] at 12 months. These findings suggest that while majority of infants ultimately classified with developmental concerns do not show significant behavioral differences in the first year, when early differences are present, they have predictive value. Combining behavioral tools may help to improve identification of infants most in need of early supports.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; Mullen Scales of Early Learning
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01MH099046; R01MH068398; P50HD103526; UL1TR001860; KL2TR001859
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MIND Institute, UC Davis Health, Sacramento, CA USA