Cognitive and behavioral differences in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder from multiplex and simplex families

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Dissanayake, C., Searles, J., Barbaro, J., Sadka, N., & Lawson, L. P. (2019). Cognitive and behavioral differences in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder from multiplex and simplex families. Autism Research, 12(4), 682-693. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2074

Publication date: 21 Jan 2019 Added to AutiHub: 7 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)

Abstract

Prospective, longitudinal designs utilizing “high‐risk” infant siblings of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD‐sibs) have provided unique and valuable insights regarding the early ASD phenotype. However, it remains unclear whether these cases are representative of all children with ASD. The objective in the present study was to investigate whether the early development of toddlers with ASD from multiplex (MPX) families, who have an affected older sibling, is similar or different to toddlers with ASD from simplex (SPX) families, where there is no affected sibling. A further aim was to examine patterns of association between autism symptom severity and cognitive functioning within each group to inform possible mechanisms for group similarities/differences. Behavioral and cognitive assessment data from a sample of toddlers with ASD was utilized, comprising 45 MPX, 127 first‐born SPX, and 72 later‐born SPX toddlers. Participants in the MPX group had significantly higher developmental quotients on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning compared to those in the SPX groups, who did not differ from each other. However, all three groups were similar on their autism severity scores (measured using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and the Autism Diagnostic Interview), and the pattern of relationships between cognitive ability and autism symptom severity. The results suggest that caution be exercised in generalizing findings from ASD‐sib samples to other samples of children with ASD. The higher cognitive abilities in the MPX group, in addition to biological differences, may also be an outcome of family environmental factors, which deserves further investigation. Autism Research 2019, 12: 682–693. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary We sought to establish whether toddlers with autism from families where there is more than one affected child, called multiplex families, are different to children from simplex families, where there is only one affected child, and no other members within the immediate family with an autism diagnosis. We found that while toddlers from multiplex families were similar to those from simplex families in their autism symptoms, they were more developmentally advanced than children in the latter group.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 18:18.

Cited references
58
With a DOI
50
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
8
6 / 58 (10.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 58 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
58 / 58 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
7
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
532
From DOI or external metadata
532
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
70 / 532 (13.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 462 / 532 (86.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
6 / 532 (1.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 6 / 70 (8.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 2 / 449 (0.4%).
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