What is the reason for doing the study?  

Considerable progress has been made in identifying the earliest clinical features of autism with the adoption of prospective research designs, focused on infants at increased likelihood of autism by virtue of having an older autistic sibling. Yet, little is understood about the developmental outcomes of the nieces and nephews of autistic individuals. To facilitate that research, it is essential to understand, and describe the developmental course children with second degree autistic relatives. We are confident that our research will provide new knowledge about the developmental course and prognosis of ASD – information that is essential for youth, parents, policy-makers, and all stakeholders. 

Interviews with young adults who have an autistic sibling have highlighted the potential value of such research. First, these parents have rich insights related to their lived experience of growing up with an autistic sibling, which has sensitized them to the broad range of manifestations of autism, including subtle differences that may be more easily detected within the context of family life. Partnering with this sibling group as they embark on the journey of parenting their own infants may generate new information about the earliest features of autism based on their unique perspectives, as well as novel strategies of eliciting these features from parent interviews and interactive assessment.