Investigating the Prevalence of Neurological Soft Signs in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Siblings: A Cross-Sectional Study
Iranian Journal of Child Neurology,
Vol. 19 No. 1 (2025),
7 Dey 2025
,
Page 25-35
https://doi.org/10.22037/ijcn.v19i1.44589
Abstract
Objectives
Autism is determined by children’s inability to communicate with others through language. More studies have shown that neurological soft signs (NSS) can be one of the symptoms of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. However, complete and proven evidence regarding the role of NSS in the pathogenesis of autism has not been determined. For this purpose, this research investigated the prevalence of NSS in children with autism spectrum and their siblings and compared it with the control group.
Materials & Methods
The current study was cross-sectional. In this study, thirty-two children aged 7-17 who had been referred to the pediatric psychiatry clinics of Imam Hossein Hospital and the Autism Charitable Association in Tehran, Iran, were entered; they were diagnosed with an autism disorder by a child and adolescent psychiatrist based on the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, thirty-two siblings of children with autism in the age group of 7-17 years who did not have any neurological and mental disorders were included; thirty-two healthy individuals (controls) who did not have any disorders were evaluated with the K-SADS checklist. Gilliam Autism Rating Scale 3rd Edition (GARS-3) was also used to confirm the diagnosis and severity of the disease.
Results
The results showed that the incidence of NSS in the patient group was higher than in the other two groups, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Furthermore, the results indicated that these signs had a high diagnostic value in identifying patients from healthy people.
Conclusion
In general, using the NSS score in patients with autism can be considered a prediction factor compared to their siblings. In addition, the score had no effect on the prediction between sibling and control subjects
- Autism spectrum disorder, Neurological soft signs, Sibling.
How to Cite
References
Ben-Ari Y. Is birth a critical period in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders? Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2015;16(8):498-505.
Khader SA, Rao SS, Kamath N. Clinical profile of children with autism spectrum disorder: A study from coastal Karnataka. EXECUTIVE EDITOR. 2019;10(3):236.
Sutcliffe JS. Insights into the pathogenesis of autism. Science. 2008;321(5886):208-9.
Yin J, Schaaf CP. Autism genetics–an overview. Prenatal diagnosis. 2017;37(1):14-30.
Malviya JA, Gawande S, Faye A, Kirpekar V, Bhave S, Tadke R. Neurological soft signs in autism spectrum disorder. Panacea J Med Sci. 2022;12:57-60.
Walker EF. Neurodevelopmental precursors of schizophrenia. The neuropsychology of schizophrenia: Psychology Press; 2019. p. 119-29.
Manouilenko I, Pagani M, Stone-Elander S, Odh R, Brolin F, Hatherly R, et al. Autistic traits, ADHD symptoms, neurological soft signs and regional cerebral blood flow in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2013;7(5):566-78.
Gilliam JE. GARS: Gilliam autism rating scale: Pro-ed Austin, TX; 2006.
Hadders‐Algra M, Tacke U, Pietz J, Rupp A, Philippi H. Reliability and predictive validity of the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment neurological scale. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2019;61(6):654-60.
de la Peña FR, Villavicencio LR, Palacio JD, Félix FJ, Larraguibel M, Viola L, et al. Validity and reliability of the kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia present and lifetime version DSM-5 (K-SADS-PL-5) Spanish version. Bmc Psychiatry. 2018;18:1-7.
Chan RC, Xu T, Heinrichs RW, Yu Y, Gong Q-y. Neurological soft signs in non-psychotic first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2010;34(6):889-96.
Rathod B, Kaur A, Basavanagowda DM, Mohan D, Mishra N, Fuad S, et al. Neurological soft signs and brain abnormalities in schizophrenia: a literature review. Cureus. 2020;12(10).
Focseneanu B, Dobrescu I, Marian G, Rusanu V. Neurological soft signs in early stage of schizophrenia associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Medicine and Life. 2015;8(Spec Issue):74.
Razjouyan K, Mousavi H, Ashtiani RD, Khademi M. An Investigation into Prevalence of Neurological Soft Signs in Children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder and Their Siblings. NeuroQuantology. 2017;15(3).
Gong J, Xie J, Chen G, Zhang Y, Wang S. Neurological soft signs in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Their relationship to executive function and parental neurological soft signs. Psychiatry Research. 2015;228(1):77-82.
- Abstract Viewed: 341 times