Infant quantitative risk for autism spectrum disorder predicts executive function in early childhood.
High First-Year-Inventory scores, especially sensory-regulatory items, forecast executive-function struggles by preschool.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Stephens et al. (2018) asked parents to fill out the First Year Inventory when their babies turned one. The checklist flags early signs of autism risk.
The team followed the children until age three and a half. They then gave each child a brief battery of executive-function games.
The goal was to see if higher autism-risk scores in infancy forecast weaker working memory, flexibility, and self-control later.
What they found
Kids who had scored high on the FYI at 12 months earned lower executive-function scores at 3.5 years.
The Sensory-Regulatory section of the FYI drove the link. Even after removing general autism symptoms, that section still predicted EF trouble.
How this fits with other research
Pellicano (2013) flipped the timeline. That study showed preschool EF predicts later social and repetitive behaviors. Together the papers form a loop: early risk → weak EF, and weak EF → worse autism features.
Petrolo et al. (2025) reviewed the same preschool window and concluded EF deficits explain social and behavior problems. Their synthesis supports L et al.’s warning that infant risk can snowball into everyday regulation issues.
Heald et al. (2020) carried the story into elementary school. Parents of older children reported that EF challenges still tracked with communication problems. The 2018 infant signal therefore extends across development.
Why it matters
If a 12-month FYI shows high Sensory-Regulatory scores, start planning EF supports now, not at school entry. Embed turn-taking games, simple rule switches, and sensory breaks into toddler sessions. Early practice may blunt the slide the 2018 team spotted and the later studies kept finding.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Much of the current research concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focuses on early identification of behaviors that may indicate future deficits or higher risk for a later diagnosis. Additionally, there exists a strong claim regarding the dimensional nature of ASD, such that even among non-diagnosed individuals, a continuous distribution of symptom severity can be observed. Executive function (EF) has been widely studied in children, adolescents, and adults with ASD, with a robust body of research supporting widespread EF deficits in diagnosed individuals. However, it remains unclear how the degree of ASD symptomatology, outside of the presence of a diagnosis, affects EF abilities in a community sample. The First Year Inventory 2.0 (FYI 2.0), a parent-report measure, was designed to identify infants at 12 months who are at risk for an eventual ASD diagnosis. In the current study, a continuous scoring scale was used to examine risk (overall, Social-Communication, and Sensory-Regulatory) from a dimensional perspective. Parents also completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version and the Social Responsiveness Scale-2nd edition when their children were 42 months (3.5 years) old. Each FYI 2.0 risk variable significantly predicted scores on an overall EF composite and specific EF subscales. When controlling for general ASD symptomatology, Sensory-Regulatory risk still significantly predicted EF deficits. This research provides additional support for a quantitative consideration of risk for ASD and presents novel findings regarding the relation between infant behaviors indicative of ASD risk and EF in early childhood. Autism Research 2018, 11: 1532-1541. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty with executive function (EF) tasks that require a set of mental processes involved in goal-directed behaviors. Studying children without ASD who may have symptoms affecting EF is also important. This study demonstrates that certain infant behaviors related to ASD are linked to early childhood EF difficulties. These results support looking at a range of ASD symptoms to better understand children who struggle with EF and potentially design tools to help them.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2018 · doi:10.1002/aur.2024