Characteristics, Early Development and Outcome of Parent-Reported Regression in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Boterberg et al. (2019) asked parents to look back and describe how their autistic children first developed.

They compared kids who later lost skills with kids who never lost skills.

The team wanted to see if early communication differed between the two groups.

Children who later regressed had weaker early communication to begin with.

After the regression, these same children showed more repetitive and restricted behaviors.

Parents noticed the skill loss even though the kids had already been slower talkers.

Prigge et al. (2013) pooled 85 studies and found about one in three autistic children regress, most often around 18 months. Sofie’s work sits inside that big picture and adds the warning sign of poor early communication.

Manelis et al. (2020) saw that regressed toddlers actually walked and ran sooner than other autistic peers. That sounds opposite to Sofie’s finding of slower talking, but the two studies looked at different skills—motor versus language—so both can be true.

Heslop et al. (2007) followed preschoolers for four years and found regressed kids gained language more slowly. Sofie’s data now show the gap starts even earlier, extending that timeline backward.

If a toddler with ASD is barely babbling or pointing, keep an extra close watch. The same child is more likely to lose words later and to develop intense repetitive behaviors. Start early communication goals now and teach parents to record new words each week so any loss is caught fast.