skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Newborn Auditory Brainstem Responses in Children with Developmental Disabilities
We integrated data from a newborn hearing screening database and a preschool disability database to examine the relationship between newborn click evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and developmental disabilities. This sample included children with developmental delay (n = 2992), speech impairment (SI, n = 905), language impairment (n = 566), autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 370), and comparison children (n = 128,181). We compared the phase of the ABR waveform, a measure of sound processing latency, across groups. Children with SI and children with ASD had greater newborn ABR phase values than both the comparison group and the developmental delay group. Newborns later diagnosed with SI or ASD have slower neurological responses to auditory stimuli, suggesting sensory differences at birth.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1653737
PAR ID:
10317061
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
ISSN:
0162-3257
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Autism Research)
    null (Ed.)
    Previous studies report prolonged auditory brainstem response (ABR) in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite its promise as a biomarker, it is unclear whether healthy newborns who later develop ASD also show ABR abnormalities. In the current study, we extracted ABR data on 139,154 newborns from their Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, including 321 newborns who were later diagnosed with ASD. We found that the ASD newborns had significant prolongations of their ABR phase and V‐negative latency compared with the non‐ASD newborns. Newborns in the ASD group also exhibited greater variance in their latencies compared to previous studies in older ASD samples, likely due in part to the low intensity of the ABR stimulus. These findings suggest that newborns display neurophysiological variation associated with ASD at birth. Future studies with higher‐intensity stimulus ABRs may allow more accurate predictions of ASD risk, which could augment the universal ABR test that currently screens millions of newborns worldwide. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; (, Autism Research)
    Abstract In inclusive preschools, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD) are less socially engaged with peers than are typically developing (TD) children. However, there is limited objective information describing how children with ASD engage with teachers, or how teacher engagement compares to engagement with peers. We tracked over 750 hours' worth of children's (N = 77;NASD = 24,NDD = 23,NTD = 30;Mage = 43.98 months) and teachers' (N = 12) locations and orientations across eight inclusion preschool classrooms to quantify child‐teacher and child‐peer social preference. Social approach velocity and time in social contact were computed for each child and compared across social partners to index children's preference for teachers over peers. Children with ASD approached teachers–‐but not peers—more quickly than children with TD, and children with ASD were approached more quickly by teachers and more slowly by peers than children with TD. Children with ASD spent less time in social contact with peers and did not differ from children with TD in their time in social contact with teachers. Overall, children with ASD showed a greater preference for approaching, being approached by, and being in social contact with teachers (relative to peers) than children with TD. No significant differences emerged between children with DD and children with TD. In conclusion, children with ASD exhibited a stronger preference for engaging with teachers over peers, re‐emphasizing the need for classroom‐based interventions that support the peer interactions of children with ASD. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Autism Research)
    Abstract Classroom engagement plays a crucial role in preschoolers' development, yet the correlates of engagement, especially among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delays (DD), remains unknown. This study examines levels of engagement with classroom social partners and tasks among children in three groups ASD, DD, and typical development (TD). Here, we asked whether children's vocal interactions (vocalizations to and from peers and teachers) were associated with their classroom engagement with social partners (peers and teachers) and with tasks, and whether the association between classroom engagement and vocal interactions differed between children in the ASD group and their peers in the DD and TD groups. Automated measures of vocalizations and location quantified children's vocal interactions with peers and teachers over the course of the school year. Automated location and vocalization data were used to capture both (1) children's vocal output to specific peers and teachers, and (2) the vocal input they received from those peers and teachers. Participants were 72 3–5‐year‐olds (Mage = 48.6 months, SD = 7.0, 43% girls) and their teachers. Children in the ASD group displayed lower engagement with peers, teachers, and tasks than children in the TD group; they also showed lower engagement with peers than children in the DD group. Overall, children's own vocalizations were positively associated with engagement with social partners. Thus, although children in the ASD group tend to have lower engagement scores than children in the TD group, active participation in vocal interactions appears to support their classroom engagement with teachers and peers. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, PNAS Nexus)
    Abstract Neurodevelopmental disorders are on the rise worldwide, with diagnoses that detect derailment from typical milestones by 3 to 4.5 years of age. By then, the circuitry in the brain has already reached some level of maturation that inevitably takes neurodevelopment through a different course. There is a critical need then to develop analytical methods that detect problems much earlier and identify targets for treatment. We integrate data from multiple sources, including neonatal auditory brainstem responses (ABR), clinical criteria detecting autism years later in those neonates, and similar ABR information for young infants and children who also received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, to produce the earliest known digital screening biomarker to flag neurodevelopmental derailment in neonates. This work also defines concrete targets for treatment and offers a new statistical approach to aid in guiding a personalized course of maturation in line with the highly nonlinear, accelerated neurodevelopmental rates of change in early infancy. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Communication Disorders)
    Abstract Introduction This research examined the classification accuracy of the Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS) for identifying preschool-aged children (3;0 to 6;9) with developmental language disorder (DLD). We present data from two independent samples that varied in prevalence and diagnostic reference standard. Methods Study 1 included a clinical sample of children (54 with DLD; 13 without) who completed the QUILS and a standardized assessment of expressive grammar (Syntax subtest from the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation–Norm Referenced; Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test–Preschool 2nd Edition; or Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test–3 rd Edition). Study 2 included a community sample of children (25 with DLD; 101 without) who completed the QUILS and the Auditory Comprehension subtest of the Preschool Language Scales–5th Edition (PLS-5; Zimmerman et al., 2011). Discriminant analyses were conducted to compare classification accuracy (i.e., sensitivity and specificity) using the normreferenced cut score (< 25th percentile) with empirically derived cut scores. Results In Study 1, the QUILS led to low fail rates (i.e., high specificity) in children without impairment and statistically significant group differences as a function of children's clinical status; however, only 65% of children with DLD were accurately identified using the norm-referenced cutoff. In Study 2, 76% of children with DLD were accurately identified at the 25th percentile cutoff and accuracy improved to 84% when an empirically derived cutoff (<32nd percentile) was applied. Conclusions Findings support the clinical application of the QUILS as a component of the screening process for identifying the presence or absence of DLD in community samples of preschool-aged children. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email