Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social communication and the presence of repetitive behavior and/or restricted interests, there is evidence that motor impairments may be a contributing factor to the ASD phenotype. The purpose of this study was to examine the motor act of reaching-to-grasp in children at high risk (HR; with an older sibling diagnosed with ASD) and low-risk (LR; no family history of ASD) for ASD. Children were compared for differences in reaching-to-grasp based on sibling status and diagnostic outcome. Children were enrolled between 6 and 12 months of age and the reach-to-grasp movement was scored at 6, 9, (where available) 12, 15, 18, 24, and 36 months of age using the qualitative Skilled Reaching Rating Scale to determine the presence of any group-, age-, or sex-related differences in the mechanics of the reach-to-grasp movement using a Mixed Models analysis. At 36 months, all children underwent a gold-standard diagnostic assessment, which resulted in three outcome groups: HR children diagnosed with ASD (HR-ASD; n = 10), HR children not diagnosed with ASD (HR-N; n = 10), and low-risk children not diagnosed with ASD (LR; n = 10). The group of children who were later diagnosed with ASD (HR-ASD group) showed higher (worse) total scores on the reach-to-grasp movement, as well as higher scores on the components of Orient, Lift, and Pronate compared to children in the LR and HR-N groups. Our results support the growing literature indicating that children who are later diagnosed with ASD show impaired early motor performance. These results highlight the importance of early surveillance of children who are at elevated risk for ASD, and early initiatives should focus on early signs of the phenotype, including both movement and sensory differences (prodromal signs) prior to the emergence of diagnostic characteristics.

中文翻译：

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后来被诊断患有自闭症谱系障碍的婴儿的伸手抓握动作：一项高风险兄弟姐妹队列研究


尽管自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的特点是社交沟通障碍以及重复行为和/或兴趣受限，但有证据表明运动障碍可能是 ASD 表型的一个促成因素。本研究的目的是检查自闭症谱系障碍高风险（HR；有一个年长的兄弟姐妹被诊断患有自闭症谱系障碍）和低风险（LR；无自闭症谱系障碍家族史）儿童的伸手抓握运动行为。根据兄弟姐妹状况和诊断结果，比较儿童在掌握能力方面的差异。儿童入组时年龄在 6 至 12 个月之间，并在 6、9、12、15、18、24 和 36 个月时使用定性熟练触及评定量表对伸手抓握动作进行评分，使用混合模型分析确定抓握运动机制中是否存在任何与群体、年龄或性别相关的差异。 36 个月时，所有儿童均接受了金标准诊断评估，结果分为三个结果组：诊断为 ASD 的 HR 儿童 (HR-ASD；n = 10)、未诊断为 ASD 的 HR 儿童 (HR-N；n = 10 ），以及未诊断为自闭症谱系障碍的低风险儿童（LR；n = 10）。与儿童相比，后来被诊断为 ASD 的儿童组（HR-ASD 组）在伸手抓握动作方面的总分更高（更差），在东方、举起和旋前各部分的得分也更高在 LR 和 HR-N 组中。我们的研究结果支持越来越多的文献表明，后来被诊断为自闭症谱系障碍的儿童表现出早期运动表现受损。 这些结果强调了对自闭症谱系障碍高风险儿童进行早期监测的重要性，早期举措应侧重于表型的早期迹象，包括诊断特征出现之前的运动和感觉差异（前驱体征）。