Language Delay – Siblings of Children with Autism

As a relatively new and often misunderstood condition, autism is of great interest to researchers around the world from a variety of disciplines. New developments within the field are therefore met with great interest from speech & language therapists, as autism can have an enormous and varied impact on an individual’s speech and language. For more information about how communication can be affected in autism, see https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/news/item/0/81/brain-scan-to-diagnose-autism-/

A new study has been published this week through the American Journal of Psychiatry’s website: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/appi.ajp.2010.09101470v1 The article is titled “Sibling Recurrence and the Genetic Epidemiology of Autism” (Constantino, Zhang, Frazier, Abbacchi and Law, 2010). It states that siblings of children with autism are more frequently found to have language delays and other subtle or ‘mild’ characteristics of the disorder than previously understood. It also suggests that girls may be affected more often than previously believed, although with much less severity.

The National Autistic Society recognises that having a sibling with autism can be extremely difficult: “younger people who   have a sibling with autism might experience teasing from other children, a lack of privacy, disruption of their home life and a feeling of resentment that the whole focus of the family is always on the person with autism” (NAS, 2010). Such is this sentiment that many charities and support groups for children with autism also offer activities and support for siblings.

If this new research is to be taken at face value, siblings of children with autism may have more problems to contend with than the aforementioned difficulties at home. Language delay can have a very negative impact on a child’s spoken language, social communication, literacy skills and education. Children under the age of 5 are particularly at risk, but can also benefit hugely from language therapy.

I.T.S. has a number of specialised therapists who can help provide support for communication difficulties associated with autism. They are experienced in managing the condition and understanding the impact it can have on a family. Please contact us for more information: https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/contact-us/

Further Information

Constantino, J., Zhang, Y., Frazier, T., Abbacchi, A. & Law, P. (2010). Sibling Recurrence and the Genetic Epidemiology of Autism. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 167 (11).

National Autistic Society – Brothers and Sisters (2010). http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/parents-relatives-and-carers/siblings.aspx

Sarah Bennington – October 2010Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. ITS is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Therapists.