The early development of infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder: Characteristics of sibling interactions.

Brenda Salley,Chloè Bontinck,Herbert Roeyers,Petra Warreyn,Sara Van Der Paelt,Ellen Demurie

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0193367

Abstract

Although sibling interactions play an important role in children’s early development, they are rarely studied in very young children with an older brother or sister with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study used a naturalistic, observational method to compare interactions between 18-month-old infants and their older sibling with ASD (n = 22) with a control group of 18-month-old infants and their typically developing (TD) older sibling (n = 29). In addition, role (a)symmetry and the influence of gender were evaluated. Sibling interactions in ASD-dyads were characterized by higher levels of negativity. Although somewhat less pronounced in ASD-dyads, role asymmetry was present in both groups, with the older child taking the dominant position. Finally, siblings pairs with an older sister were characterized by more positive behaviours. Since differences in sibling interactions may alter the developmental trajectories of both siblings, these early relationships should be taken into account in future ASD research and interventions.

Highlights

In early development, the social world mainly consists of interactions with caregivers and siblings [1]
The main focus of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of sibling interactions in dyads involving a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its infant sibling in comparison with typically developing dyads
We investigated whether the role asymmetry that characterizes early and middle childhood in typically developing dyads was evident in dyads including a child with ASD

Summary

Introduction

The social world mainly consists of interactions with caregivers and siblings [1]. The present study aimed to evaluate three important aspects of sibling interactions: 1) The interactive behaviour of both siblings; 2) Role (a)symmetries; 3) The effect of gender To this end, we observed sibling interactions in dyads including 18-month-old infants and their older sibling with ASD as well as in typically developing control dyads in a naturalistic, familiar setting (i.e., the children’s home). Contrary to the findings of Knott and colleagues [40,47] that HR-sibs act as leaders instead of the children with ASD, we did not expect a clear role asymmetry in dyads with a child with ASD Given their young age, HR-sibs’ social-communicative abilities are not yet fully developed. In line with previous research, we expected dyads with an older sister to be more positive than dyads with an older brother [9,11,12]

Method

Participants

Procedure

Results

Discussion