To What Extent Do Joint Attention, Imitation, and Object Play Behaviors in Infancy Predict Later Communication and Intellectual Functioning in ASD?

The extent to which early social communication behaviors predict later communication and intellectual outcomes was investigated
via retrospective video analysis. Joint attention, imitation, and complex object play behaviors were coded from edited home
videos featuring scenes of 29 children with ASD at 9–12 and/or 15–18 months. A quantitative interval recording of behavior
and a qualitative rating of the developmental level were applied. Social communication behaviors increased between 9–12 and
15–18 months. Their mean level during infancy, but not the rate of change, predicted both Vineland Communication scores and
intellectual functioning at 3–7 years. The two methods of measurement yielded similar results. Thus, early social communicative
behaviors may play pivotal roles in the development of subsequent communication and intellectual functioning.