Social–Cognitive and Speech Sound Production Abilities of Minimally Verbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maysoon F. Biller ◽  
Cynthia J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Minimally Verbal ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Minimally Verbal Children

Examining Useful Spoken Language in a Minimally Verbal Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Descriptive Clinical Single-Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1361-1375
Author(s):  
Maysoon F. Biller ◽  
Cynthia J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Minimally Verbal ◽  
Minimally Verbal Children

Purpose This was a companion study to a previous one (Biller & Johnson, 2019). The purpose was to develop a detailed descriptive profile of a minimally verbal child with a unique medical history and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present report describes his social-cognitive and speech sound production abilities in relation to his potentially burgeoning spoken language. Method This in-depth, descriptive, clinical single-case study focused on a 3-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a chromosomal abnormality and ASD. The size of his spoken vocabulary fell at the upper limit for classifying a child as minimally verbal. His demographic information was obtained, in addition to general information from his mother. Four social-cognitive and three speech sound production abilities were assessed, as well as his overall performance in both domains. The study included a parent interview and two child assessment sessions. Results The child exhibited low social-cognitive and speech sound production abilities for his age, with social-cognitive abilities higher than speech sound production abilities. Comparison with the previous study revealed substantial gaps in social cognition and speech sound production between this child and five other minimally verbal children with ASD. His higher abilities in these two domains co-occurred with his larger spoken vocabulary size. Conclusions Although the child's social-cognitive abilities were low for his age, with his speech sound production abilities even lower, both domains were perhaps high enough to support spoken vocabulary at the upper limit for minimally verbal children. Indeed, there appeared to be quantitative and qualitative differences between him and other minimally verbal children in the previous study. The possibility was explored that there is a point or threshold along the developmental continua for social cognition and speech sound production that allows for expansion into useful language.

scholarly journals Trajectories of imitation skills in preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Pittet ◽  
Nada Kojovic ◽  
Martina Franchini ◽  
Marie Schaer
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
The Impact

Imitation skills play a crucial role in social cognitive development from early childhood. Many studies have shown a deficit in imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Little is known about the development of imitation behaviors in children with ASD. This study aims to measure the trajectories of early imitation skills in preschoolers with ASD and how these skills impact other areas of early development. For this purpose, we assessed imitation, language and cognition skills in 177 children with ASD and 43 typically developing children (TD) aged 2 to 5 years old, 126 of which were followed longitudinally, yielding a total of 396 time-points. Our results confirmed the presence of an early imitation deficit in toddlers with ASD compared to TD children. The study of the trajectories showed that these difficulties were marked at the age of two years, and gradually decreased until the age of 5 years old. Imitation skills were strongly linked with cognitive, language skills and level of symptoms in our ASD group at baseline. Moreover, the imitation skills at baseline were predictive of the language gains a year later in our ASD group. Using a data-driven clustering method, we delineated different developmental trajectories of imitation skills within the ASD group. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed, particularly the impact of an early imitation deficit on other areas of competence of the young child.

scholarly journals Trajectories of imitation skills in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irène Pittet ◽  
Nada Kojovic ◽  
Martina Franchini ◽  
Marie Schaer
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Imitation skills play a crucial role in social cognitive development from early childhood. Many studies have shown a deficit in imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Little is known about the development of imitation behaviors in children with ASD. This study aims to measure the trajectories of early imitation skills in preschoolers with ASD and how these skills impact other areas of early development. Methods For this purpose, we assessed imitation, language, and cognition skills in 177 children with ASD and 43 typically developing children (TD) aged 2 to 5 years old, 126 of which were followed longitudinally, yielding a total of 396 time points. Results Our results confirmed the presence of an early imitation deficit in toddlers with ASD compared to TD children. The study of the trajectories showed that these difficulties were marked at the age of 2 years and gradually decreased until the age of 5 years old. Imitation skills were strongly linked with cognitive and language skills and level of symptoms in our ASD group at baseline. Moreover, the imitation skills at baseline were predictive of the language gains a year later in our ASD group. Using a data-driven clustering method, we delineated different developmental trajectories of imitation skills within the ASD group. Conclusions The clinical implications of the findings are discussed, particularly the impact of an early imitation deficit on other areas of competence of the young child.

Disfluency Characteristics Observed in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Preliminary Report

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura W. Plexico ◽  
Julie E. Cleary ◽  
Ashlynn McAlpine ◽  
Allison M. Plumb
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Young Children With Autism ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Developmental Stuttering

This descriptive study evaluates the speech disfluencies of 8 verbal children between 3 and 5 years of age with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Speech samples were collected for each child during standardized interactions. Percentage and types of disfluencies observed during speech samples are discussed. Although they did not have a clinical diagnosis of stuttering, all of the young children with ASD in this study produced disfluencies. In addition to stuttering-like disfluencies and other typical disfluencies, the children with ASD also produced atypical disfluencies, which usually are not observed in children with typically developing speech or developmental stuttering. (Yairi & Ambrose, 2005).

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