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Acoustic Properties of Cries in 12-Month Old Infants at High-Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

There is preliminary evidence that infant siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have an atypical pattern of cry, characterized by higher fundamental frequency and increased dysphonation. This prospective study collected multiple cry samples of 12-month old siblings of children with ASD (n = 22, ‘high-risk’ group) and 12-month olds with no family history of ASD (n = 27, ‘low risk’ group). While there was no difference between groups in the fundamental frequency or degree of phonation of the cry samples, the duration of each cry unit was significantly shorter in the high-risk siblings (p < .05). The six infant siblings who received a diagnosis of ASD at age two had amongst the shortest recorded cry durations.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a Project Grant (APP1003424) and Senior Research Fellowship to AJOW (APP1077966) from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The authors would like to acknowledge the participating families who generously donated their time to this study. MH is funded by an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship (1058935). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author Contributions

LMU participated in study design, acquisition of the data, performed statistical analyses and interpretation of data, and co-ordinated, drafted and revised the manuscript. IB was involved in coding, analysing and interpreting the data. MTM was involved in interpretation of data and helped to draft and critically edit the manuscript. VR helped to interpret the data and was involved in critically editing the manuscript for important intellectual content. NC provided helpful feedback on the manuscript and participated in interpreting data. CD was involved in study design and revising the manuscript. MH was involved in acquisition of funding, study design and participated in editing and reviewing the manuscript. AJOW was involved in acquisition of funding, study design, interpretation of data, statistical analyses and helped to draft and revise the manuscript. All authors have given final approval of the version to be published.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Telethon Kids Institute & School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Lisa M. Unwin & Andrew J. O. Whitehouse

  2. School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Lisa M. Unwin & Murray T. Maybery

  3. School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia

    Ildiko Bruz & Natalie Ciccone

  4. School of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Victoria Reynolds

  5. School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

    Victoria Reynolds

  6. Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

    Cheryl Dissanayake

  7. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal Women’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Martha Hickey

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  1. Lisa M. Unwin
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  2. Ildiko Bruz
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  3. Murray T. Maybery
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  4. Victoria Reynolds
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  5. Natalie Ciccone
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  8. Andrew J. O. Whitehouse
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Correspondence to Lisa M. Unwin.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Unwin, L.M., Bruz, I., Maybery, M.T. et al. Acoustic Properties of Cries in 12-Month Old Infants at High-Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 2108–2119 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3119-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3119-z

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