Lidia V Gabis1, Odelia Leon Attia2, Ronit Roth-Hanania3, Jennifer Foss-Feig4. 1. Weinberg Developmental Center, Safra Children's Hospital, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Israel. Electronic address: Lidia.Gabis@sheba.gov.il. 2. Weinberg Developmental Center, Safra Children's Hospital, Tel Hashomer, Israel. Electronic address: odelialeon@gmail.com. 3. The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo, Israel. Electronic address: roniti1968@gmail.com. 4. Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, United States. Electronic address: jennifer.foss-feig@mssm.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Autism and intellectual disability may coincide and be preceded by global developmental delay or by motor delay. HYPOTHESIS: Motor delay in the context of global developmental delay is an initial "red flag" for ASD, with added risk in girls. OBJECTIVE: To assess early developmental milestones in girls with ASD as compared to diagnosed boys, considering prematurity risk. METHOD: Developmental milestones in a cohort of 467 children with ASD - diagnosed at mean age of 3.4 years (SD = 2.2) - were analyzed according to gender and prematurity risk. RESULTS: 111 girls (24 %), 356 boys (76 %), presented with motor milestones acquisition grossly within the normal range. However, there was a shift towards acquisition of walking being at the later end of the norm range, with this shift being more prominent in girls. 60 % of girls and 47 % of boys with ASD had motor delay and 49 % of girls and 36 % of boys had global developmental delay. The extent of the delays was greater in the prematurity subgroup. CONCLUSION: Global delay of early milestones occurred in half of children with ASD and in 60 % of girls with ASD. Delayed acquisition of independent walking is relatively more common in girls subsequently diagnosed with ASD.
BACKGROUND:Autism and intellectual disability may coincide and be preceded by global developmental delay or by motor delay. HYPOTHESIS: Motor delay in the context of global developmental delay is an initial "red flag" for ASD, with added risk in girls. OBJECTIVE: To assess early developmental milestones in girls with ASD as compared to diagnosed boys, considering prematurity risk. METHOD: Developmental milestones in a cohort of 467 children with ASD - diagnosed at mean age of 3.4 years (SD = 2.2) - were analyzed according to gender and prematurity risk. RESULTS: 111 girls (24 %), 356 boys (76 %), presented with motor milestones acquisition grossly within the normal range. However, there was a shift towards acquisition of walking being at the later end of the norm range, with this shift being more prominent in girls. 60 % of girls and 47 % of boys with ASD had motor delay and 49 % of girls and 36 % of boys had global developmental delay. The extent of the delays was greater in the prematurity subgroup. CONCLUSION: Global delay of early milestones occurred in half of children with ASD and in 60 % of girls with ASD. Delayed acquisition of independent walking is relatively more common in girls subsequently diagnosed with ASD.
Authors: Emily F Dillon; Stephen Kanne; Rebecca J Landa; Robert Annett; Raphael Bernier; Catherine Bradley; Laura Carpenter; So Hyun Kim; Julia Parish-Morris; Robert Schultz; Ericka L Wodka Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2021-12-02