Exploring Growth in Expressive Communication of Infants and Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://sagepub.com

Y

20

Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) (ED/OSERS)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)

R324A120365
H327S140024
R01HD100364

Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Toddlers; Expressive Language; Language Skills; Language Impairments; Interpersonal Communication; Communication Skills; Nonverbal Communication; Vocabulary; Speech Communication; Measurement Techniques; Disability Identification; Intervention; Scores; Correlation; Individual Characteristics

Aberrant Behavior Checklist; Behavior Assessment System for Children; Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales; Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales; Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales; Childhood Autism Rating Scale; Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule

10.1177/1053815121995578

1053-8151
2154-3992

One of the earliest indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is delay in language and social communication. Despite consensus on the benefits of earlier diagnosis and intervention, our understanding of the language growth of children with ASD during the first years of life remains limited. Therefore, this study compared communication growth patterns of infants and toddlers with ASD to growth benchmarks of a standardized language assessment. We conducted a retrospective analysis of growth on the Early Communication Indicator (ECI) of 23 infants and toddlers who received an ASD diagnosis in the future. At 42 months of age, children with ASD had significantly lower rates of gestures, single words, and multiple words, but significantly higher rates of nonword vocalizations. Children with ASD had significantly slower growth of single and multiple words, but their rate of vocalization growth was significantly greater than benchmark. Although more research is needed with larger samples, because the ECI was designed for practitioners to monitor children's response to intervention over time, these findings show promise for the ECI's use as a progress monitoring measure for young children with ASD. Limitations and the need for future research are discussed.

As Provided

Yes

2022

EJ1326723