Loss of skills and onset patterns in neurodevelopmental disorders: Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms.
Skill loss in autism is common, but we still lack biological tracking—start collecting real-time data now.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Thurm et al. (2018) wrote a summary of an NIMH meeting. The meeting asked: why do some children with autism lose skills they once had?
The team looked at past studies. They found most data came from parent memory, not from watching kids in real time.
What they found
The review found big gaps. We still do not know how or why regression happens in the brain.
The authors said we need new tools: brain scans, blood tests, and animal models started before skills disappear.
How this fits with other research
Mount et al. (2011) counted that 1 in the children with autism lose skills. Audrey et al. agree on the number but say we must stop using only parent interviews.
Warnes et al. (2005) showed that parent-reported regression does not predict later IQ. This supports Audrey’s warning: parent memory is weak evidence.
Zhao et al. (2024) later used real-time brain scans and found dynamic brain signatures in autism. They delivered the exact tool Audrey asked for.
Why it matters
If you assess a child whose parents say words vanished, do not trust memory alone. Start baseline data now. Track skills weekly with direct probes. Push for referral to studies that use EEG, MRI, or blood markers. Your notes today could become the biological data Audrey says we still need.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
UNLABELLED: Patterns of onset in Autism Spectrum Disorder, including a pattern that includes loss of previously acquired skills, have been identified since the first reports of the disorder. However, attempts to study such "regression" have been limited to clinical studies, that until recently mostly involved retrospective reports. The current report reflects discussion that occurred at an NIMH convened meeting in 2016 with the purpose of bridging clinical autism research with basic and translational work in this area. This summary describes the state of the field with respect to clinical studies, describing gaps in knowledge based on limited methods and prospective data collected. Biological mechanisms that have been shown to account for regression early in development in specific conditions are discussed, as well as potential mechanisms that have not yet been explored. Suggestions include use of model systems during the developmental period and cutting-edge methods, including non-invasive imaging that may afford opportunities for a better understanding of the neurobiological pathways that result in loss of previously-attained skills. Autism Res 2018, 11: 212-222. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Loss of previously acquired skills, or regression, has been reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder since Kanner's reports in the 1950's. The current report reflects discussion from an NIMH convened meeting in 2016 with the purpose of bridging clinical autism research with basic and translational work in this area. This summary describes the state of the field regarding clinical studies and suggests use of model systems during the developmental period and cutting-edge methods, for a better understanding of the neurobiological pathways that result in loss of previously-attained skills.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2018 · doi:10.3389/fnins.2016.00410