Mother’s Sensitivity May Help Language Growth
The Research
A new study published by researchers on February 2010 from the University of Miami shows that maternal sensitivity may influence language development among children who go on to develop autism. This research examines how early parenting can promote resiliency in this population. However, parenting styles are not considered as a cause for autism.
What is Maternal Sensitivity
Maternal sensitivity is defined in the study as a combination of warmth, responsiveness to the child’s needs, respect for his or her emerging independence, positive regard for the child, and maternal structuring (which refers to the way in which a mother engages and teaches her child in a sensitive manner). For example, if a child is playing with colored rings, the mother might say, "This is the green ring," thus teaching the child about his environment, says Messinger, associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Miami (UM).
The Study
In this study, maternal sensitivity (and primarily, sensitive structuring) was more predictive of language growth among toddlers developing autism than among children who did not go on to an autism diagnosis. One possible explanation is that children with autism may be more dependent on their environment to learn certain skills that seem to come more naturally to other children.
For the study, 33 children were assessed in the lab at 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age. Some of the children had an older sibling diagnosed with autism and were considered high risk for autism.
At the 18-month assessment, the researchers videotaped a five minute period of mother and child free play in which the mothers were asked to play as they would at home. Aspects of maternal sensitivity were scored on seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior. Children’s language was assessed at 2 and 3 years. At the 3 year visit, when the children were old enough to be evaluated, 12 of children from the high risk group received an autism-spectrum diagnosis.
Significance of the Study
Its findings indicates that when children with autism increase their connection to the environment they do much better. Understanding the benefits of sensitive structuring in the development of language among young children with emergent autism provides scientific support for early intervention programs that focus on parent-child interactions.
"Language problems are among the most important areas to address for children with autism, because they represent a significant impairment in daily living and communication," says Daniel Messinger,
Jason K. Baker, a postdoctoral fellow at the Waisman Center commented very well on importance of communication. He said, "Parenting may matter even more for children with developmental problems such as autism because certain things that tend to develop easily in children with typical neurological development, like social communication, don’t come as naturally for kids with autism, so these skills need to be taught" .
"We know that parenting doesn’t cause autism. The message here is that parents can make a difference in helping their children fight against autism," Baker says.
