The Development of the Siblings of Children with Autism: A Longitudinal Study

This study tracks the early development of younger siblings of children with autism from 6 to 36 months of age. We will track and provide feedback on your child's play, social, cognitive, and language development.

The major aim of this study is to identify group differences in early life in children who are at risk of autism and autism spectrum disorder because they have an older sibling who has been diagnosed with autism. The study is taking place at two sites: the Center for Autism Research and Treatment at UCLA and the MIND Institute at UC Davis. As of June 2006, 230 siblings of autistic children (109 at UCLA and 121 at UC Davis) and 131 infant siblings without a family history of autism (63 at UCLA and 68 at UC Davis) have been recruited and tested every 6 months, starting at 6, 12, or 18 months and continuing until 36 months of age. We propose to recruit an additional 100 infant siblings of children with autism at UCLA and to extend the follow-up of the current sample to 5-years of age.