A study will soon appear in the highly regarded Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The results of this study deserve some attention. Professor Daniel Messinger with the University of Miami conducted a large study of infants at-risk for autism.

Dr. Messinger reports that mothers’ sensitivity may play a key role in language growth. Maternal sensitivity is defined as warmth, responsiveness to the children’s needs and respect for their emerging independence. “For example, if a child is playing with colored rings, the mother might say, ‘This is the green ring,’ thus teaching the child about his environment.” By the way, these are behaviors that the early childhood fields understand as appropriate and desired for all children from birth on up.

According to the study, “parents may matter even more for children with developmental problems such as autism because certain things that tend to develop easily in children with typical neurological development don’t come naturally for kids with autism, so the skills need to be taught,” reports Dr. Jason Baker who carried out the study along with Dr. Messinger.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded this study and found that these results paralleled the findings of previous research. “We know that parenting doesn't cause autism. The message here is that parents can make a difference in helping their children fight against autism,” Baker says.

Source: Science Daily, February 25, 2010