Predicting cognitive development and early symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in preterm children: The value of temperament and sensory processing

Abstract

This study was the first to longitudinally explore the extent to which early temperament and sensory processing were of predictive value for cognitive development and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptomatology in a sample of preterm children (N = 50, 22 girls, mean gestational age 27 weeks). At the corrected ages of 10, 18, and 24 months, sensory processing and temperament were assessed, as were cognitive development and ASD symptoms at 36 months. Better cognitive development was predicted by fewer hospitalisation days at birth and by lower Activity Level at 18 months. Temperamental subscales of Negative Affect showed associations with both parent-reported and observational measures of ASD symptomatology, whereas sensory processing only had predictive value for parent-reported symptoms of ASD. The usefulness of temperament and sensory processing for prediction of ASD symptom severity and cognitive outcomes became clear in the second year of life. The results indicate that this area of research is worth additional investigation in the extreme and very preterm population, to explore in further detail whether these two concepts might be able to provide information about which preterms are more likely to develop ASD or cognitive impairments.