Peer-reviewed article
Parental Concerns About their Child's Development During the First Year of Life and a Subsequent Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis.
Orly Kerub, Einav Alhozyel, Rewa Blaaum, Leena Elbedour, Gal Meiri et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether parents' concerns about their child's development in the first year of life predict autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Among 840 children (280 later diagnosed with ASD, 560 without), parents of children with ASD were much more likely to express concerns early (19.5% vs 2.8%). Parental concerns were linked to delays in language, motor, and social milestones, and remained a significant independent risk factor for ASD even after accounting for these delays. The findings suggest that listening to parental concerns during routine health visits could help identify children at risk of ASD earlier.
Key points
- 19.5% of parents of children later diagnosed with ASD expressed developmental concerns in the first year, compared to 2.8% of parents whose children did not have ASD
- Parental concerns were associated with failure to reach age-appropriate language (OR=5.27), motor (OR=2.46), and social (OR=2.27) developmental milestones
- Even after accounting for developmental delays, parental concerns remained independently associated with later ASD diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio 7.76)
- Regular monitoring of parent-reported concerns may help identify children at risk for ASD in early screening programs
Limitations
The study does not specify the country or healthcare setting, and does not describe what happens when parents express concerns or whether early identification changes outcomes for children.
Abstract
Eliciting parents' concerns about their child's development is a key component of developmental surveillance. Here, we aimed to examine whether parental concern about the child's development during the first year of life is associated with a later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We compared prospectively collected data from medical records on parental concerns and children's developmental milestones at ages 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months between 280 children later diagnosed with ASD and 560 children without ASD. Overall, 8.1% of parents in our study expressed concerns regarding their child's development during the first year of life, with a significantly higher portion of parents of children later diagnosed with ASD expressing concerns vs. parents of children without ASD (19.5% vs. 2.8%; p < 0.001). Notably, parental concerns were associated with the failure of children to master age-appropriate language, motor, and social developmental milestones (OR = 5.27, p < 0.001; OR = 2.46, p = 0.023; and OR = 2.27, p = 0.012, respectively). Nevertheless, even after adjustment for this association, parental concerns were found to be an independent risk factor for ASD (aOR = 7.76; 95%CI = 4.31-13.97). Thus, regular monitoring of parent-reported concerns may be invaluable in early screening programs for ASD.