Childhood Academic Performance: A Potential Marker of Genetic Liability to Autism

Janna Guilfoyle; Molly Winston; John Sideris; Gary E. Martin; Kritika Nayar; Lauren Bush; Tom Wassink; Molly Losh

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05459-5

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Childhood Academic Performance: A Potential Marker of Genetic Liability to Autism

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Childhood Academic Performance: A Potential Marker of Genetic Liability to Autism

Janna Guilfoyle, Molly Winston, John Sideris, Gary E. Martin, Kritika Nayar, Lauren Bush, Tom Wassink and Molly Losh

Journal of autism and developmental disorders, Vol.53(5), pp.1989-2005

05/2023

DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05459-5

PMCID: PMC9932999

PMID: 35194728

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/9932999View

Open Access

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, confers genetic liability that is often expressed among relatives through subclinical, genetically-meaningful traits, or endophenotypes. For instance, relative to controls, parents of individuals with ASD differ in language-related skills, with differences emerging in childhood. To examine ASD-related endophenotypes, this study investigated developmental academic profiles among clinically unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD (n = 29). Lower performance in language-related skills among siblings mirrored previously-reported patterns among parents, which were also associated with greater subclinical ASD-related traits in themselves and their parents, and with greater symptom severity in their sibling with ASD. Findings demonstrated specific phenotypes, derived from standardized academic testing, that may represent childhood indicators of genetic liability to ASD in first-degree relatives.

Psychology

Social Sciences

Psychology, Developmental

Details

Title: Subtitle: Childhood Academic Performance: A Potential Marker of Genetic Liability to Autism
Creators: Janna Guilfoyle - Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
Molly Winston - Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
John Sideris - University of Southern California
Gary E. Martin - St. John's University
Kritika Nayar - Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
Lauren Bush - Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
Tom Wassink - University of Iowa
Molly Losh - Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 N Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA. m-losh@northwestern.edu.
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of autism and developmental disorders, Vol.53(5), pp.1989-2005
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05459-5
PMID: 35194728
PMCID: PMC9932999
NLM abbreviation: J Autism Dev Disord
ISSN: 0162-3257
eISSN: 1573-3432
Publisher: Springer Nature
Number of pages: 17
Grant note: R01DC010191; R03MH107834; P30DC012035 / National Institutes of Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA BCS-0820394 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) 1337 / Autism Speaks
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 02/23/2022
Date published: 05/2023
Academic Unit: Psychiatry; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics
Record Identifier: 9984281752602771

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