Atypical Development of Attentional Control Associates with Later Adaptive Functioning, Autism and ADHD Traits
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Atypical Development of Attentional Control Associates with Later Adaptive Functioning, Autism and ADHD Traits Alexandra Hendry1,2 · Emily J. H. Jones3 · Rachael Bedford4 · Linn Andersson Konke5 · Jannath Begum Ali3 · Sven Bӧlte6,7 · Karin C. Brocki5 · Ellen Demurie8 · Mark Johnson3,9 · Mirjam K. J. Pijl10 · Herbert Roeyers8 · Tony Charman2 · the Eurosibs Team
© The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Autism is frequently associated with difficulties with top-down attentional control, which impact on individuals’ mental health and quality of life. The developmental processes involved in these attentional difficulties are not well understood. Using a data-driven approach, 2 samples (N = 294 and 412) of infants at elevated and typical likelihood of autism were grouped according to profiles of parent report of attention at 10, 15 and 25 months. In contrast to the normative profile of increases in attentional control scores between infancy and toddlerhood, a minority (7–9%) showed plateauing attentional control scores between 10 and 25 months. Consistent with pre-registered hypotheses, plateaued growth of attentional control was associated with elevated autism and ADHD traits, and lower adaptive functioning at age 3 years. Keywords Autism · ADHD · Attention · Atypical development · Infant · Intermediate phenotype Although the core diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) focus on social-communication atypicalities and rigid and repetitive behaviours that cause impairment (APA 2013), the autistic spectrum encompasses a broad Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04465-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. The members of the The Eurosibs team are listed in the acknowledgments.
range of behavioural characteristics. For example, autistic individuals vary considerably in the extent of autism-related traits, in their intellectual ability, and in their ability to function independently in day-to-day life (Szatmari et al. 2015; Visser et al. 2017). Despite the heritability of autism (Tick et al. 2016), attempts to find a single genetic account of autism have largely failed; likely due in part to heterogeneity within the spectrum (Feczko et al. 2019; Happé et al. 2006), and in part to overlap with other conditions. Around 71% of children with an autism diagnosis also meet criteria for
* Alexandra Hendry [email protected] 1
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
2
and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet & Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden 7
Psychology Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
Curtin Autism Research Group, School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
8
3
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London
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