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Differences in means-end exploration between infants at risk for autism and typically developing infants in the first 15 months of life - PubMed

. 2019 Mar;61(2):203-215.

doi: 10.1002/dev.21810. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

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Differences in means-end exploration between infants at risk for autism and typically developing infants in the first 15 months of life

Sudha M Srinivasan et al. Dev Psychobiol. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Our study compared means-end exploration in infants at risk (AR) for autism and typically developing (TD) infants using a nested box paradigm. Sixteen AR and 16 TD infants were observed at 9, 12, and 15 months with follow-up at 18 and 24 months. We collected video data on three tasks involving retrieval of a small toy by opening (a) an opaque box, (b) a transparent box, and (c) two nested boxes. Dependent variables included hand bias, time to completion, bilateral hand use, problem-solving strategies used, and tester assistance required. There were no group differences in terms of hand biases. Compared to TD infants, AR infants had lower bilateral hand use, poor problem solving skills, and required greater assistance. Both groups demonstrated age-related improvements in motor and cognitive skills. Means-end exploration provides a window into the bilateral coordination and motor planning/problem-solving abilities of young infants at risk for autism. Lastly, object retrieval tasks could serve as important learning contexts for at-risk infants.

Keywords: at-risk infants; autism; means-end exploration; motor; object retrieval.

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:

Experimental setup for the three means-end tasks

Figure 2:
Figure 2:

Group differences and developmental trends in the total number of strategies used during means-end tasks. * indicates p ≤ 0.05. The * within a black box indicates a significant group difference. The black * indicates a developmental difference between two ages for the group indicated. The black line indicates the TD group whereas the grey line indicates the AR group.

Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C:
Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C:

Individual data on total strategies, hand use, and tester assistance in AR infants. Solid grey lines indicate data from individual AR infants and grey dot-dashed lines represent data from AR infants with future ASD diagnoses/other delays. Solid black lines indicate the TD group average. Group data were not shown for these variables because group differences were present at all ages.

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