Prospective longitudinal research in infants at elevated likelihood for autism spectrum disorder

Subtitle:Recherche longitudinale prospective chez des enfants à haut risque de trouble du spectre autistique

Over the past one and a half decade, there has been a shift in research on the early manifestation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from retrospective designs to prospective longitudinal studies of children at elevated likelihood for developing ASD. While initially studies almost exclusively focused on infant siblings with an older brother or sister with ASD, other populations, in the first place very and extreme preterm born babies, are increasingly being examined. Main objectives are the identification of early markers and neurodevelopmental trajectories of ASD to improve prediction of diagnosis and intervention. In this article some initial novel findings of our ongoing research at Ghent University are presented, which can be regarded as promising avenues for further work. We argue however that large-scale transdisciplinary multi-site projects on the national and international level are clearly needed to make substantial progress in this field. At the same time, careful attention to ethical concerns and dilemmas is extremely important.

Publication year:2021

Accessibility:Open