Purpose: This study examines the effects of communication sample length on the reliability and convergent validity of six vocal measures for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with minimal verbal skills. The results are expected to inform recommendations for the length of communication samples for clinical and research purposes. Method:…

Changes in minimal verbal communication by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were measured with the Communication Complexity Scale (CCS) and other communication assessments. The CCS measures complexity of preverbal and beginning verbal communication used to communicate behavior regulation and joint attention. The purpose was to…

Purpose: This research explored syntactic growth in children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) over a 5-year period, and variability in growth in relation to autism symptoms, nonverbal cognition, maternal responsivity, and gender. Method: Language samples at 4 time points from 39 children with FXS, 31 boys and 8 girls, were analyzed using the Index of…

This study of the forms and functions of expressive communication produced by 84 children and adults with severe mental retardation found significant differences among participants associated with differences in their communication levels (contact gesture, distal gesture, or symbolic), age (child or adult), and residential status (community home…