Parent-Child Interaction Synchrony for Infants At-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Mossman and colleagues watched parents play with their 12-month-old babies. Some babies had an older sibling with autism, putting them at high risk. Others had no family history of autism.

The team coded every second of the play for "synchronous-demanding" moves—times when the parent pushed the baby to act or respond right away. They also asked parents how they saw their child’s mood.

High-risk parents used more synchronous-demanding behaviors than low-risk parents. The extra pushes were tied to how parents rated baby mood, not to early autism signs.

In plain words: parents who saw their babies as fussy or hard to please tried harder to keep the game going. The style came from parent perception, not from the child’s autism risk level.

Jackson et al. (2025) extends this picture. They show that the same parent gestures at 12 months predict vocabulary three years later, no matter the risk group. Early synchronous style matters for language, not just for moment-to-moment play.

Meirsschaut et al. (2011) looks almost opposite at first. Mothers were more responsive to non-ASD siblings than to the child with ASD. That seems to clash with Mossman’s finding that parents push high-risk babies more. The gap is age and setting: Mieke watched preschool siblings within one family; Mossman watched infants with no autism diagnosis yet. The studies together tell us timing and context shape how parents adapt.

Boudreau et al. (2015) add another layer. Parent POEMS scores already flag ASD markers by 12 months. Mossman shows parent style is linked to mood ratings, not those markers. Use both tools: POEMS for risk, mood check for interaction coaching.

When you coach families of at-risk infants, ask parents how they feel about their baby’s mood. If they say the baby is often cranky or hard to please, teach them to pause and follow the child’s lead instead of pushing the next toy. This simple shift can lower demanding synchronous moves and may set up better language growth later.