| Abstract |
[Abstract] Objective: To reveal the social behavior and neurodevelopmental trajectories and outcomes of infants with familial high-risk autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method: From April 2022 to September 2023, 100 6-month-old familial high-risk ASD infants (younger siblings of ASD patients) were recruited as the research group at the Childrens Neurology and Development Center of our hospital, while 50 6-month-old familial low-risk ASD infants (younger siblings of normal developing children) were recruited as the control group at the Childrens Group Health Department of our hospital. The study group was randomly divided into study group A and study group B. Study group A received family social behavior intervention, while study group B and control group received routine parenting methods and were continuously tracked for 24 months. At 6, 12, and 18 months of age, both the study group and control group were evaluated for their social behavior and neurodevelopmental function using the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI) and the Gazelle Development Scale (GDS), respectively. At 24 months of age, children were evaluated for neurological development and core symptoms of ASD using scales such as the Gazelle Development Scale and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). At the same time, the outcomes of the three groups of children were judged based on the relevant diagnostic criteria in the US Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (5th edition).Result: The proportion of children diagnosed with ASD at the age of 2 in the control group was 1.7%, with language disorders being 1.7%, high-risk children with ASD being 1.7%, and 3 cases (5.2%) of language and behavior abnormalities; The proportion of children diagnosed with ASD in study group A at the age of 2 was 5.5%, with language disorders being 5.5%, high-risk children with ASD being 3.6%, and a total of 8 cases (14.5%) with abnormal language and behavior; The proportion of children diagnosed with ASD in study group B at the age of 2 was 16.4%, language disorders were 18.2%, high-risk children with ASD were 5.5%, and a total of 22 cases (40%) had abnormal language and behavior. Intragroup comparison showed a linear relationship between the total AOSI score and Gesell functional area scores of the three groups of study subjects and the evaluation time. The differences in scores obtained at different time points were statistically significant (P<0.05); Compared between groups, the total score of AOSI and the scores of Gesells functional areas were better in the control group than in the study group A, and the study group A was better than in the study group B, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05).Conclusion: Compared with familial low-risk ASD infants, familial high-risk ASD infants exhibit more ASD like behavior during infancy and their neural development is relatively backward; And it is more likely to be classified as ASD or have varying degrees of language behavior problems. Family social behavior intervention starting from infancy can effectively promote the development of language social behavior and neural development in high-risk ASD infants, thereby reducing the occurrence of ASD or language behavior abnormalities.Keywords: Familial high risk; Autism spectrum disorders in infants and young children; Development; Reversion
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