Maternal attention to language is a promising early diagnostic marker for autism spectrum disorders

In a recent study published in JAMA network opena team of researchers investigated the potential use of maternal attention to speech as a diagnostic trait for autism spectrum disorders and assessed its association with social and language skills.

Background

Motherese or Parentese is a form of speech for infants that utilizes simple grammar, slow tempos, exaggerated intonation, high pitches, and a playful style, and is usually used by caregivers to get the infant’s or infant’s attention. used by

Studies have found that young children prefer this style of speaking to that of adults, and mother tongues are ubiquitous across cultures and languages, suggesting a genetic basis. Research reveals links between motherhood and infant learning, improving engagement, emotional reactivity, and language acquisition skills.

Children with autism spectrum disorder often have abnormal or absent responses to auditory cues, such as being called their name or having a reduced understanding of the meaning of words. Furthermore, children on the autism spectrum often prefer computer-generated speech to their native language, suggesting that children without an autism spectrum disorder but experiencing language and social developmental delays may is not preferred.

This suggests that attention to native language may be a diagnostic tool for classifying autism spectrum disorders.

About research

In this study, researchers recruited young children through community referral or population-based screening using a checklist for infant and toddler development that can detect autism spectrum disorders as early as 1 year. Assessments were performed every 9 to 12 months until their 3rd birthday. A licensed psychologist performed various assessments and maternal eye-tracking tests.

In addition, infants and their parents also participated in various tests such as the Autism Diagnosis Observation Schedule. Based on the results, the infants were classified into 5 groups – autism spectrum disorders, features of autism spectrum disorders, typical development, delays, and typical siblings of autism spectrum disorder probands. .

Three paradigms were used to test young children’s interest in their mother tongue. Each paradigm consisted of two of her films placed side by side. In the mother-versus-traffic scenario, one side consisted of actresses communicating in their mother tongue, while the other showed vehicles moving on a highway with traffic noise and car horns. In the Mothers vs. Techno scenario, the movie of vehicle noise was replaced with numbers and abstract shapes moving around the screen, as well as the sound of musical chords. One in her native tongue, the other in a flat, monotonous voice.

One-way analysis of covariance was used to assess differences between groups using age and sex as covariates. In addition, this study examined the associations between mothers’ level of fixation, social and verbal skills, and age and stratified infants by subgroups with high, medium, and low levels of fixation for mothers. .

result

The results showed that there was a significant difference in maternal attention to speech between children with and without autism spectrum disorder in the traffic and techno paradigm, but not in the flat affect paradigm. was shown. Toddlers with autism spectrum disorder showed nearly uniform attention to their mother tongue. In contrast, infants with autism spectrum disorder had a wide range of attention levels (0% to 100%) to their native language, with some infants being highly focused and others being less attentive to their native language. . The study also found that infants in the maternal low attention group had significantly increased numbers of eye movements or saccades when watching their mother’s speech in all three paradigms.

Of the 653 infants who participated in the eye-tracking experiment, 64.62% belonged to the autism spectrum disorder group, 15.93% had non-autism spectrum disorder delays, and 19.45% exhibited typical development. rice field. As a result, using a fixation level of ≤30% as a cutoff for low attention to native speech in the traffic and techno paradigms, respectively, yielded 98% and 96% specificity, 94% positive predictive value, and 94% positive predictive value. and decreased sensitivity. than 18% and 29%.

Conclusion

Overall, the results suggested an association between low maternal attention to speech and poor social and verbal skills. Although the native vs. flat voice influence paradigm was not effective as a diagnostic classifier in this study, an attentional level cutoff of ≤30% was consistent with autism in the native vs. traffic and techno paradigms. It has been shown to be a good indicator of spectrum impairment. Findings suggest that maternal attention to language is a fundamental aspect of early development, aids in early screening for autism spectrum disorders, and is beneficial in shaping diagnosis and prognosis.