Smith, KaylaHogan, Abigail LWill, ElizabethRoberts, Jane E
Summary
Identifying anxiety in children is essential to help the development of children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Down syndrome (DS) and Fragile X syndrome (FXS). Researchers assessed toddlers in both populations. Higher autism spectrum disorder symptom severity was related to more social attentional avoidance in the FXS and typical development (TD) groups. This study suggests that there may be many different underlying factors that cause attentional avoidance in children with varying neurodevelopmental disorders.
Abstract
Early identification of behavioral risk markers for anxiety is essential to optimize long-term outcomes in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. This study analyzed attentional avoidance and its relation to anxiety and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomatology during social and nonsocial fear conditions in toddlers with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS). Toddlers with FXS and DS exhibited increased nonsocial attentional avoidance relative to typically developing (TD) toddlers. Attentional avoidance was not related to anxiety symptom severity in any group; however, higher ASD symptom severity was related to more social attentional avoidance in the FXS and TD groups. Findings suggest that there may be different underlying mechanisms driving attentional avoidance across neurodevelopmental disorders.
Conditions
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Fragile X Syndrome, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Phobic Disorders