Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre
Research projects - Infancy
Studies which focus attention on the period of infancy are critical if we are to understand how autism develops and manifest in the first years of life. Knowledge of the early development of ASDs also assists in identifying children earlier, thereby enabling them to receive intervention in their early and most important years.
1. Identification of early markers of Autism in infancy
This research program focuses on the identification of early markers of Autism Spectrum Disorders in infancy. The overall objective is to promote the early recognition of Autism Spectrum Disorders so that these children may begin participation in appropriate interventions at younger ages. We have charted the early development of children who received a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder retrospectivly, via Maternal and Child Health (M&CH) records and infant home videos. One focus in this program is to investigate the early development of joint attention abilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder. For example, Sally Clifford, a former Ph.D student (now a post doctoral fellow at University College London) studied the extent to which joint attention in infancy predicts social cognitive functioning in preschool children with Autism.
2. Social Attention and Communication Study
Together with another Ph.D student, Josephine Barbaro (a Robert Menzies Scholar), we are currently undertaking a large prospective study to identify infants at risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders via their routine M&CH assessments. The aim in the Social Attention and Communication Study (SACS) is to determine whether a set of behaviours, previously shown to differentiate infants with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder, can be used by community-based health professionals to prospectively identify infants who will receive a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. This aim is achieved by training M&CH nurses to monitor infants' development in key areas during four routine consultations at M&CH centres over the first two years of life. At-risk infants are referred to OTARC for further assessment and diagnosis. To date we have found that approximately 80% of the infants referred to OTARC are meeting the criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder at 2 years. In addition to facilitating early identification and diagnosis, the study will also provide valuable information on the very early development of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The SACS is funded by a Telstra Community Development Grant.
3. Prospective Identification of Autism in Infancy: A Follow-up Study
This follow-up study of the SACS samples aims to validate the early diagnosis of the toddlers who met the criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder at 2 years. All referred children will be re-assessed between 3- and 4-years to determine the validity and stability of their diagnosis, and of the early markers of autistic behaviour identified by the M&CH nurses. A further objective in this study is to identify early behavioural and cognitive predictors of developmental gains, as well as the impact of early intervention on very early development. The follow-up study will also enable us to assess the accessibility, suitability and efficacy of early intervention services, as well as identifying possible gaps in service provision. These data will inform the development of policy regarding early identification and diagnosis, early intervention, referral pathways and service provision for families with very young children with Autism. The follow-up study is funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust.
4. Early signs of autism spectrum disorders in infancy and early childhood from a community sample of Victorian children
Prof. Margot Prior (The University of Melbourne), Prof. Edith Bavin (La Trobe University) and Ms. Carly Veness (Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne) are members of a multidisciplinary team studying the natural course of language development in a sample of almost 2000 children recruited via Maternal and Child Health Centres across metropolitan Melbourne. The Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS) is based at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and Royal Children's Hospital. The children were recruited at around 8 months of age and have been followed up each year using both maternal ratings on questionnaires and face to face assessments focused on social and communicative development. The study is continuing until the children are 7 years of age and in their second year of school. Within this community sample, children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) given by independent autism clinicians began to emerge from approximately 2 years of age. Read more.
5. Development of infants at high genetic risk for ASD – Brain and Behaviour
Dr Kristelle Hudry, Prof Cheryl Dissanayake, and Doctoral student Katherine Crea are working in collaboration with Dr Jordy Kaufman of the Swinburne University BabyLab to examine early markers of ASD in infants. Infants who are at determined to be at high genetic risk for ASD, based on having an older sibling with such a diagnosis, are seen over a number of visits, beginning from 4-months of age, at the Swinburne BabyLab. Measures of brain response to the environment and physical growth are taken at these repeated visits, following the infants as they get older. From around 2 years of age, infants are then seen at the OTARC, where various behavioural assessments of social-communication skill, play, language and learning ability are undertaken. This exciting collaboration is currently in its early days, and we hope shortly to begin extending this work to look also at emotional development and mental wellbeing in toddlerhood and early childhood, and parent-child interaction styles over early development.