engleski

Early communication development of socially deprived children: are there signs of "institutional autism"

Social deprivation-induced changes in brain structure and function have been well described in both non-human primates and other experimental mammals. However, there are few data on effects of early negative influences on the structure and/or functions of human infant`s brain. In the study of Romanian orphans, Chugani et al (2001) found decreased metabolic rate in the prefrontal (orbitofrontal and infralimbic) cortex, amygdala, hippocampus and the lateral temporal cortex. The affected brain structures were quite similar to those putatively involved in pathogenesis of autism. It seems that social deprivation in infants, as in other mammals, can result in autism-like symptoms. Moreover, it is known for more than 40 years that institutionalized and autistic children display similar patterns of behavior. The aim of this study was to analyze early communication development in institutionalized children (N=24 ; age-range 12 to 24 months), and to compare it with typically developing and age- matched peers raised in family settings (N=24). Paired samples method was used. Our findings indicate that 75% of institutionalized children displayed conspiciously low performance and differed from their peers in social (p=0, 004), speech (p=0, 000), and symbolic (p=0, 000) development. As a group, they display some autism-like symptoms (non-systematic response to their own name, age-inappropriate joint attention skills, delay of appearance of first word(s), delay in language comprehension and babbling, decreased interest to play with different objects, lack of functional and symbolic play). However, institutionalized children differ from children with autism in two important diagnostic criteria – they show interest for social environment and communicate for noninstrumental purposes. In conclusion, institutionalized children show delayed pattern of early (socio)cognitive, communication and language development, but they do not show a full range of symptoms typically appearing in children with autism. These findings need to be replicated with a larger sample, because some other studies indicated that the incidence of autism may be increased in institutionalized children.

early communication; institutionalization; autism; infants

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