Publications by authors named "D S Messinger"

Prevalence of autism diagnosis has historically differed by demographic factors. Using data from 8224 participants drawn from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we examined relationships between demographic factors and parent-reported autism-related traits as captured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; T score > 65) and compared these to relations with parent-reported clinician diagnosis of ASD, in generalized linear mixed effects regression analyses. Results suggested lower odds of autism diagnosis, but not of SRS T > 65, for non-Hispanic Black children (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are less socially engaged with peers compared to typically developing (TD) children in inclusive preschool settings.
  • A study tracking over 750 hours found that children with ASD approached teachers more quickly and spent less time socializing with peers than TD children did, but their time with teachers was similar to that of TD children.
  • The findings indicate that children with ASD prefer engaging with teachers over peers, highlighting the importance of interventions to enhance peer interactions for these children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Recent studies on animal movements show different thermodynamic phases, but similar insights for human movement, especially at low speeds, are lacking.
  • - Using ultrawideband RFID technology, researchers gathered detailed movement data from children in various settings, identifying two unique phases: a gaslike phase of freedom and a liquid-vapor phase indicating small social group formations.
  • - The study introduces a statistical physics model that replicates these observed phases and suggests that UWB-RFID can also aid research in broader areas like animal behavior and human interactions in complex systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although vocabulary size is thought to index children's language abilities, an increasing body of work suggests that regularities in children's vocabulary composition, particularly the proportion of shape-based nouns (e.g., cup), support language development.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Children's own language production has a role in structuring the language of their conversation partners and influences their own development. Children's active participation in their own language development is most apparent in the rich body of work investigating language in natural environments. The advent of automated measures of vocalizations and movement have made such in situ research increasingly feasible.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF