Catherine A Burrows1, James W Bodfish2, Jason J Wolff3, Elayne P Vollman4, Melody R Altschuler5, Kelly N Botteron6, Stephen R Dager7, Annette M Estes8, Heather C Hazlett9, John R Pruett6, Robert T Schultz10, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum11, Joseph Piven9, Jed T Elison5. 1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. 2. Department of Hearing & Speech Sciences, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 3. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. 4. Department of Psychology and Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. 5. Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. 6. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. 7. Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. 8. Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. 9. Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. 10. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 11. Autism Research Centre, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Abstract
Intense interests are common in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and little research has characterized aspects of interests that are unique to or shared among children with and without ASD. We aimed to characterize interests in a sample of infants at high-familial-risk (HR) and low-familial-risk (LR) for ASD using a novel interview. Participants included HR siblings who were diagnosed with ASD at 24 months (HR-ASD, n = 56), HR siblings who did not receive an ASD diagnosis at 24 months (HR-Neg, n = 187), and a LR comparison group (n = 109). We developed and collected data with the Intense Interests Inventory at 18- and 24-months of age, a semi-structured interview that measures intensity and peculiarity of interests in toddlers and preschool-aged children. Intensity of interests differed by familial risk at 24 months, with HR-ASD and HR-Neg groups demonstrating equivalent intensity of interests that were higher than the LR group. By contrast, peculiarity of interest differed by ASD diagnosis, with the HR-ASD group showing more peculiar interests than the HR-Neg and LR groups at 24 months. At 18 months the HR-ASD group had more peculiar interests than the LR group, though no differences emerged in intensity of interests. This measure may be useful in identifying clinically-relevant features of interests in young children with ASD. We also replicated previous findings of males showing more intense interests at 18 months in our non-ASD sample. These results reveal new information about the nature of interests and preoccupations in the early autism phenotype. LAY SUMMARY: Intense interests are common in young children with autism and their family members. Intense interests are also prevalent among typically-developing children, and especially boys. Here we catalog interests and features of these interests in a large sample of toddlers enriched for autism risk. Children who had family members with autism had more intense interests, and those who developed autism themselves had more unusual interests at 24 months. These results highlight the importance of different aspects of interest in autism.
Intense interests are common in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and little research has characterized aspects of interests that are unique to or shared among children with and without ASD. We aimed to characterize interests in a sample of infants at high-familial-risk (HR) and low-familial-risk (LR) for ASD using a novel interview. Participants included HR siblings who were diagnosed with ASD at 24 months (HR-ASD, n = 56), HR siblings who did not receive an ASD diagnosis at 24 months (HR-Neg, n = 187), and a LR comparison group (n = 109). We developed and collected data with the Intense Interests Inventory at 18- and 24-months of age, a semi-structured interview that measures intensity and peculiarity of interests in toddlers and preschool-aged children. Intensity of interests differed by familial risk at 24 months, with HR-ASD and HR-Neg groups demonstrating equivalent intensity of interests that were higher than the LR group. By contrast, peculiarity of interest differed by ASD diagnosis, with the HR-ASD group showing more peculiar interests than the HR-Neg and LR groups at 24 months. At 18 months the HR-ASD group had more peculiar interests than the LR group, though no differences emerged in intensity of interests. This measure may be useful in identifying clinically-relevant features of interests in young children with ASD. We also replicated previous findings of males showing more intense interests at 18 months in our non-ASD sample. These results reveal new information about the nature of interests and preoccupations in the early autism phenotype. LAY SUMMARY: Intense interests are common in young children with autism and their family members. Intense interests are also prevalent among typically-developing children, and especially boys. Here we catalog interests and features of these interests in a large sample of toddlers enriched for autism risk. Children who had family members with autism had more intense interests, and those who developed autism themselves had more unusual interests at 24 months. These results highlight the importance of different aspects of interest in autism.
Authors: Christopher J Smith; Colleen M Lang; Lauren Kryzak; Abraham Reichenberg; Eric Hollander; Jeremy M Silverman Journal: J Child Psychol Psychiatry Date: 2009-02-27 Impact factor: 8.982
Authors: Laura Gutermuth Anthony; Lauren Kenworthy; Benjamin E Yerys; Kathryn F Jankowski; Joette D James; Madeline B Harms; Alex Martin; Gregory L Wallace Journal: Dev Psychopathol Date: 2013-08
Authors: Jed T Elison; Jason J Wolff; J Steven Reznick; Kelly N Botteron; Annette M Estes; Hongbin Gu; Heather C Hazlett; Adriane J Meadows; Sarah J Paterson; Lonnie Zwaigenbaum; Joseph Piven Journal: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2014-09-03 Impact factor: 8.829
Authors: Pat Mirenda; Isabel M Smith; Tracy Vaillancourt; Stelios Georgiades; Eric Duku; Peter Szatmari; Susan Bryson; Eric Fombonne; Wendy Roberts; Joanne Volden; Charlotte Waddell; Lonnie Zwaigenbaum Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2010-12
Authors: Susan Leekam; Jonathan Tandos; Helen McConachie; Elizabeth Meins; Kathryn Parkinson; Charlotte Wright; Michelle Turner; Bronia Arnott; Lucia Vittorini; Ann Le Couteur Journal: J Child Psychol Psychiatry Date: 2007-11 Impact factor: 8.982