The impact of early synchronized gestures by parents with more pronounced broader autism phenotype traits on language skills of children with autism spectrum disorder

Objective  To investigate the impact of broad autism phenotype (BAP) characteristics in early parent-child interactions on gesture use and the language abilities of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) within families affected by ASD.

Methods  A total of 49 families of children with ASD and 33 families of typically developing (TD) children were recruited. Parent-child interactions were recorded when the children were aged 18 to 24 months. Different types of parental gestures during interactions were recorded and coded, and the children’s language and nonverbal skills were assessed.

Results  Multiple linear regression analysis showed that ASD parents with higher BAP traits used fewer synchronous gestures and disambiguating gestures. The use of synchronous gestures positively predicted children’s language abilities. Mediation analysis revealed that parental synchronous gestures partially mediated the relationship between parental BAP traits and children’s language abilities in ASD families.

Conclusions ASD parents with prominent BAP traits exhibit individualized characteristics in gesture use during parent-child interactions. Therefore, individualized guidance targeting different gesture types should be considered in family-based interventions. Guiding BAP-positive ASD parents to enhance synchronous gesture use may serve as a key behavioral guidance indicator in future interventions.