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

Lisa M Unwin; Ildiko Bruz; Murray T Maybery; Victoria Reynolds; Natalie Ciccone; Cheryl Dissanayake; Martha Hickey; Andrew J O Whitehouse

doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3119-z

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

J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Jul;47(7):2108-2119. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3119-z.

Authors

Lisa M Unwin^{1

2}, Ildiko Bruz³, Murray T Maybery⁴, Victoria Reynolds^{5

6}, Natalie Ciccone³, Cheryl Dissanayake⁷, Martha Hickey⁸, Andrew J O Whitehouse⁹

Affiliations

¹ Telethon Kids Institute & School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. lisa.unwin@research.uwa.edu.au.
² School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. lisa.unwin@research.uwa.edu.au.
³ School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.
⁴ School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
⁵ School of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
⁶ School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
⁷ Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
⁸ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal Women's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁹ Telethon Kids Institute & School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.

PMID: 28425020
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3119-z

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.

Keywords: Acoustic properties; Autism spectrum disorders; Crying; Infant siblings.

MeSH terms

Autism Spectrum Disorder / diagnosis*
Autism Spectrum Disorder / epidemiology
Child
Crying*
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Siblings