Investigating quantitative signatures of autism in toddlers

PROJECT NARRATIVE Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are complex neurodevelopmental disorders manifested by atypical social communication and behavioral repertoire. The current studies aim to reveal how sensorimotor impairments may underlie, contribute, and regulate the neurobiology of this condition in toddlers recruited from the general population during the 2nd year of life and who were assessed for ASD vs. non-ASD outcomes during the 3rd year of life. Features of the neurobiologically grounded subtypes of ASD developed as part of this proposal will be used in future studies to predict diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders, in children with low-functioning form of ASD, those at risk for developing ASD, and those children with related disorders of neurodevelopment.