학술논문
Spoken Language Change in Children on the Autism Spectrum Receiving Community-Based Interventions
Document Type
Original Paper
Author
Trembath, David; Stainer, Matt; Caithness, Teena; Dissanayake, Cheryl; Eapen, Valsamma; Fordyce, Kathryn; Frewer, Veronica; Frost, Grace; Hudry, Kristelle; Iacono, Teresa; Mahler, Nicole; Masi, Anne; Paynter, Jessica; Pye, Katherine; Quan, Shannon; Shellshear, Leanne; Sutherland, Rebecca; Sievers, Stephanie; Thirumanickam, Abirami; Westerveld, Marleen F.; Tucker, Madonna
Source
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. :1-14
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
0162-3257
1573-3432
1573-3432
Abstract
We assessed the spoken language of 73 preschool aged children on the autism spectrum receiving community-based early intervention at two time points, approximately 7 months apart. Using the Spoken Language Benchmarks, there was a small non-significant change in the proportion of children transitioning from below, to at or above, Phase 3 (word combinations). Using binomial regression, a model comprising seven of nine clinician-proposed child-related predictors explained 64% of the variance. None of the predictors were individually significant, although a large effect size (OR = 16.71) was observed for children’s baseline rate of communicative acts. The findings point to substantial unmet clinical need in children with minimal verbal language, but also the relevance of clinician-proposed predictors of their spoken language outcomes.