Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pretend Play and Social Engagement in Toddlers at High and Low Genetic Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low risk (LR) toddlers with typically-developing older siblings were observed during free play with a parent and elicited pretend with an examiner at 22-months. Functional and pretend play, children’s social engagement, and parent sensitivity were assessed during free play. Complexity of play was assessed during the elicited pretend task. Toddlers with an ASD diagnosis showed less pretend play across contexts and less social engagement with parents or the examiner than either LR toddlers or high risk toddlers without a diagnosis (HR-noASD). Lower levels of pretend play and social engagement were associated with symptom severity within the high risk group, reflecting emerging ASD in toddlerhood.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR (text revision). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbaro, J., & Dissanayake, C. (2013). Early markers of autism spectrum disorders in infants and toddlers prospectively identified in the social communication and attention study. Autism, 17, 64–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Most, R. K. (1981). From exploration to play: A cross-sectional study of infant free play behavior. Developmental Psychology, 17, 630–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brownell, C. A., & Carriger, M. S. (1990). Changes in cooperation and self-other differentiation during the second year. Child Development, 61, 1164–1174.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brownell, C. A., & Kopp, C. B. (2007). Transitions in toddler socioemotional development: Behavior, understanding, and relationships. In C. A. Brownell & C. B. Kopp (Eds.), Socioemotional development in the toddler years: Transitions and transformations (pp. 1–40). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, S. B., Leezenbaum, N. B., Mahoney, A. S., Day, T. N., & Schmidt, E. N. (2015a). Social engagement with parents in 11-month-old siblings at high and low genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 19, 915–924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, S. B., Leezenbaum, N. L., Schmidt, E. N., Day, T. N., & Brownell, C. A. (2015b). Concern for another's distress in toddlers at high and low genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 3594–3605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Charman, T., Swettenham, J., Baron-Cohen, S., Cox, A., Baird, G., & Drew, A. (1997). Infants with autism: An investigation of empathy, pretend play, joint attention, and imitation. Developmental Psychology, 33, 781–789.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chawarksa, K., Klin, A., Paul, R., Macari, S., & Volkmar, F. (2009). A prospective study of toddlers with ASD: Short-term diagnostic and cognitive outcomes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 1235–1245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, L., Hutman, T., Rozga, A., Young, G. S., Ozonoff, S., Rogers, S. J., et al. (2010). Play and developmental outcomes in infant siblings of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 946–957.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, G. (2008). Early behavioral intervention, brain plasticity, and the prevention of autism spectrum disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 775–803.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gotham, K., Pickles, A., & Lord, C. (2009). Standardizing ADOS scores for a measure of severity in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 693–705.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, J. A., Hobson, R. P., Malik, S., Bargiota, K., & Calo, S. (2013). The relation between social engagement and pretend play in autism. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 31, 114–127.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landa, R. J., Holman, K. C., & Garrett-Mayer, E. (2007). Social and communicative development in toddlers with early and later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 853–864.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lausberg, H., & Sloetjes, H. (2009). Coding gestural behavior with the NEUROGES-ELAN system. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 41, 841–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, A. (2007). Pretend play in toddlers. In C. A. Brownell & C. B. Kopp (Eds.), Socioemotional development in the toddler years: Transitions and transformations (pp. 149–176). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E., Leventhal, B., DiLavore, P., et al. (2000). Autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communicative deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 205–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. (1994). Autism diagnostic interview-revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659–695.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, M. M., & Wainright, L. D. (2010). The role of high level play as a predictor of social functioning in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 523–533.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCune-Nicolich, L. (1981). Toward symbolic functioning: Structure of early pretend games and potential parallels with language. Child Development, 52, 785–797.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, E. (1995). The Mullen scales of early learning. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (1999). Early child care and mother-child interaction in the first three years of life. Developmental Psychology, 35, 1399–1413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S., Young, G. S., Belding, A., Hill, M., Hill, A., et al. (2014). The broader autism phenotype in infancy: When does it emerge? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 53, 398–407.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams, and imitation. NewYork: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierucci, J. M., Barber, A. B., Gilpin, A. T., Crisler, M. E., & Klinger, L. G. (2015). Play assessments and developmental skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 30, 35–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford, M. D., Young, G. S., Hepburn, S., & Rogers, S. J. (2007). A longitudinal study of pretend play in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1024–1039.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., Bailey, A., & Lord, C. (2003). Social communication questionnaire. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigman, M., & Ungerer, J. A. (1984). Cognitive and language skills in autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children. Developmental Psychology, 20, 293–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talbott, M. R., Nelson, C. A., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2015). Maternal gesture use and language development in infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 4–14.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health R01 MH091036 to Dr. Campbell. We thank Dr. Nancy Minshew, Dr. Mark Strauss, Dr. Carla Mazefsky, Dr. Holly Gastgeb, Ms. Stacey Becker, Ms. Taylor Day, and the staff at Autism Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh for overseeing recruitment and assessment of participating families. The Autism Center of Excellence was supported by award number HD055748 (PI Minshew) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Recruitment was also facilitated by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, supported by the National Institutes of Health through Grant Nos. UL1 RR024153 and UL1TR000005. Thanks are due to Kristen Decker, Rachel Fleming, Stephanie Fox, Monica Kim, Phebe Lockyer, Christy Lucas, Kristen McMillen, Maura Natale, Kayla Pavlock, Emily Schmidt, and Amy Tavares for assistance with data collection and coding. Special thanks go to the parents and children who participated in this study. Portions of these data were presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Philadelphia, PA, March 2015.

Author Contributions

Dr. Campbell was responsible for the overall conduct of the study and manuscript preparation. Ms. Moore and Ms. Leezenbaum analyzed the data. Ms. Mahoney supervised the coding of the data. All co-authors read, edited, and approved the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. R01 MH091036).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 210 South Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA

    Susan B. Campbell, Nina B. Leezenbaum, Amanda S. Mahoney, Elizabeth L. Moore & Celia A. Brownell

  2. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Nina B. Leezenbaum

Authors
  1. Susan B. Campbell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nina B. Leezenbaum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Amanda S. Mahoney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Elizabeth L. Moore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Celia A. Brownell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan B. Campbell.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

Informed Consent was obtained from all parents who participated in this study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Campbell, S.B., Leezenbaum, N.B., Mahoney, A.S. et al. Pretend Play and Social Engagement in Toddlers at High and Low Genetic Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 46, 2305–2316 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2764-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2764-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation