PurposeThe purpose of this study was to understand how joint attention and sensory-regulatory features are related in early childhood and predict language and social-communication outcomes in preschool in order to build mechanistic theories that can inform early intervention directed at improving these outcomes.MethodCross-lagged panel analysis models were used to examine the association between joint attention and sensory-regulatory features at 13 and 22 months of age in children (n= 87) who were identified via community screening at 12 months as having a higher likelihood than the general population for being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.ResultsSignificant concurrent correlations and predictive correlations were found between these constructs at 13 and 22 months. Joint attention skills at 13 months predicted both joint attention and sensory-regulatory features at 22 months. Distal language and social-communication outcomes at preschool age (n= 48) were best predicted by sensory-regulatory features at 22 months.ConclusionsBoth joint attention and sensory regulation are important factors in the first and second years of life for impacting later preschool language and social-communication outcomes in this sample. These findings may have implications for future early childhood intervention research for children at a higher likelihood for autism spectrum disorder.

中文翻译：

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13 个月和 22 个月时的联合注意力和感觉调节特征作为学前语言和社交沟通结果的预测因子

目的本研究的目的是了解幼儿期的联合注意力和感觉调节特征如何相关，并预测学前班的语言和社交沟通结果，以便建立机械理论，为旨在改善这些结果的早期干预提供信息。方法使用交叉滞后面板分析模型来检查 13 个月和 22 个月大的儿童的联合注意力与感觉调节特征之间的关联（n= 87）在 12 个月时通过社区筛查被确定为比一般人群更有可能被诊断为自闭症谱系障碍的人。结果在 13 个月和 22 个月时，这些结构之间发现了显着的并发相关性和预测相关性。13 个月时的联合注意力技能可预测 22 个月时的联合注意力和感觉调节功能。学龄前儿童的远端语言和社交沟通结果（n= 48）最好通过 22 个月时的感觉调节特征来预测。结论共同注意力和感觉调节都是生命第一年和第二年的重要因素，会影响该样本中后来的学前语言和社交沟通结果。这些发现可能对未来针对自闭症谱系障碍可能性较高的儿童的早期儿童干预研究产生影响。