Generalized Effects of Naturalistic Social Communication Intervention for Minimally Verbal Children with Autism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren H. Hampton ◽  
Ann P. Kaiser ◽  
Jennifer P. Nietfeld ◽  
Ani Khachoyan
Keyword(s):  
Social Communication ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Communication Intervention ◽  
Minimally Verbal ◽  
Social Communication Intervention ◽  
Minimally Verbal Children

Multi-component communication intervention for children with autism: A randomized controlled trial

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 2104-2116
Author(s):  
Lauren H Hampton ◽  
Ann P Kaiser ◽  
Elizabeth A Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Social Communication ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Communication Intervention ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Caregiver Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Minimally Verbal ◽  
Speech Generating Device

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component communication intervention on social communication for young children with autism. As many as half of children with autism are not yet talking by age 3, and up to a third of children with autism will remain minimally verbal past age 5. Spoken language outcomes are greatest when parents and clinicians are delivering language interventions to children with autism as compared to parents or clinicians alone. This study incorporates caregiver training, Discrete Trial Teaching, and JASP + EMT + SGD. A total of 68 children between ages 3 and 5 with autism, and their caregivers, participated in this study. Children were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Children in the treatment group received 36 sessions of the multi-component intervention in the clinic and at home. Children in both groups received a speech-generating device and the caregivers received an individualized training on how to program the speech-generating device. All participants were evaluated prior to intervention, immediately following intervention, and 4 months following intervention. Children in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater joint attention than those in the control group immediately following intervention. Children in the intervention group, additionally, demonstrated greater social communication with their caregivers 4 months following intervention. This brief, multi-component intervention may be effective for improving social communication in young children with autism who are at risk for remaining minimally verbal. Future research is needed to understand for whom and under what conditions this intervention is most effective. Lay abstract This study reports the results of a randomized trial for preverbal preschoolers with autism that demonstrates the effects of multiple intervention strategies including caregiver training. About 50% of children with autism are not talking by age 3 and up to 30% of children with autism will remain minimally verbal past age 5. Interventions delivered by clinicians and caregivers have the greatest effects on spoken language and may reduce the rate of those who remain minimally verbal. Sixty-eight children ages 3–5 with autism and their caregivers participated in this randomized trial comparing the communication intervention to a comparison group. A brief, multi-component, communication intervention (including a speech-generating device) for children with autism that addresses core deficits may be effective in improving joint attention skills immediately following intervention and social communication skills 4 months following intervention. Future research is needed to understand for whom and under what conditions this intervention is most effective.

scholarly journals Characterizing the early vocabulary profiles of preverbal and minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136236132097379
Author(s):  
Eileen Haebig ◽  
Eva Jiménez ◽  
Christopher R Cox ◽  
Thomas T Hills
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Minimally Verbal ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Sound Effects ◽  
Minimally Verbal Children

Children with autism spectrum disorder often have significant language delays. But do they learn language differently than neurotypical toddlers? We compared the lexical skills of 64 preverbal and minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder to 461 vocabulary-size-matched typically developing toddlers. We also examined social features of verb knowledge using a novel collection of social ratings. Children with autism spectrum disorder produced proportionally more verbs than typically developing toddlers. Children with autism spectrum disorder produced proportionally more action and food words, while typically developing toddlers produced proportionally more animal, people words, and animal sounds and sound effects. Children with autism spectrum disorder also produced “mommy” and “daddy” at lower rates. We discuss how these differences may reflect an association between lexical development and weaknesses in social communication. Lay abstract Although preverbal and minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder represent a significant portion of the autism spectrum disorder population, we have a limited understanding of and characterization of them. Although it is a given that their lexical profiles contain fewer words, it is important to determine whether (a) the words preverbal and minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder produce are similar to the first words typically developing children produce or (b) there are unique features of the limited words that preverbal and minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder produce. The current study compared the early word profiles of preverbal and minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder to vocabulary-matched typically developing toddlers. Children with autism spectrum disorder produced proportionally more verbs than typically developing toddlers. Also, children with autism spectrum disorder produced proportionally more action and food words, while typically developing toddlers produced proportionally more animal words, animal sounds and sound effects, and people words. Children with autism spectrum disorder also produced “mommy” and “daddy” at lower rates. Our findings identified several areas of overlap in early word learning; however, our findings also point to differences that may be connected to core weaknesses in social communication (i.e. people words). The findings highlight words and categories that could serve as useful targets for communication intervention with preverbal and minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder.

Perspectives: A Process Approach to Social Communication for Adolescents With Asperger's Syndrome Using Radio Interviewing

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 110-120
Author(s):  
Amy Thrasher ◽  
Jennifer Wilger ◽  
Matthew Goldman ◽  
Catharine Whitlatch
Keyword(s):  
Social Communication ◽  
Social Skill ◽  
Asperger's Syndrome ◽  
Asperger’S Syndrome ◽  
Process Approach ◽  
Communication Intervention ◽  
Social Thinking ◽  
Social Communication Intervention

Abstract The Perspectives program is a unique collaborative social communication intervention for adolescents with Asperger's syndrome and similar learning profiles. Clinicians use radio interviews as the vehicle to explicitly teach the process of social communication. Social skill objectives are addressed through this process approach, which was adapted from the framework of Social Thinking (Winner, 2002)

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