Parent-reported patterns of loss and gain in communication in 1- to 2-year-old children are not unique to autism spectrum disorder.

Brignell et al. (2017) asked parents to recall how their toddlers talked and played between 12 and 24 months. The team compared kids later diagnosed with autism, kids with language delays, and typically developing peers.

Parents filled out a checklist about gains and losses in words, gestures, and play skills. The study looked for patterns that showed up only in the autism group.

Skill loss was not an autism red flag. About one in four typically developing toddlers and one in three with language delays also lost early communication skills.

Children later diagnosed with autism did show slower gains and more skill drops across several areas, but the pattern itself was not unique to them.

Anbar et al. (2024) extends this work. They tracked the same age range and found that early joint-attention and language scores forecast school-age pragmatic problems. Amanda’s study shows the loss happens; Joshua’s shows it matters years later.

Davison et al. (2002) is a predecessor. They proved that caregiver–child synchrony predicts long-term language growth in autism. Amanda’s findings fit: when skills dip, warm adult tuning may buffer the slide.

Lemons et al. (2015) seems to contradict Amanda, because their “optimal-outcome” youth lost the autism label and kept normal social communication. The gap closes when you learn that Amanda measured parent-reported loss in babies, while J et al. tested older kids who had already outperformed. Same road, later mile marker.

Do not wait for “autism-only” skill loss to act. When any toddler stalls or backslides, screen language, hearing, and social milestones. Share Amanda’s data with worried parents: regression can happen, and it is not a sure sign of autism. Track gains every few weeks, and start language-rich play right away no matter the label.