This study examined differences in mother-child relationship quality and parent-rated child behavior problems based on child verbal status (i.e., minimally verbal versus verbal) in mothers and their adolescent and adult children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 219 dyads; child M[subscript age] = 25.38 years, SD = 10.22). Relationship quality…

Previous research has investigated generalized intraverbal-tacting by teaching children with autism to respond using autoclitic frames. The present study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of a Frame and a No Frame procedure across counterbalanced stimulus sets with 4 children with autism. In the Frame condition, children were taught to…

About 30% of adults with autism are minimally verbal. Past research suggested that after age five, few gain verbal fluency, but studies have rarely investigated whether family environmental factors contribute to the acquisition of verbal fluency. The present study utilized data from the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised to compare changes in…

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience a variety of symptoms sometimes including atypicalities in language use. The study explored differences in semantic network organisation of adults with ASD without intellectual impairment. We assessed clusters and switches in verbal fluency tasks ('animals', 'human feature', 'verbs',…

This systematic review examined definitions of "nonverbal" or "minimally verbal" and assessment measures used to evaluate communication in intervention studies focusing on improving expressive verbal communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We reviewed sample size, number of participants, participant age,…

There is a dearth of research that focuses on social intervention efforts for adults on the autism spectrum with intellectual disability and limited conversational language. Using a multiple baseline experimental design, this pilot investigation of the Socialization Knowledge for Individuals with Limited Language (SKILL) program evaluated a novel…

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is a core component of special education for many children with learning disabilities and/or autism who have minimal or no speech. Much literature focuses on implementation of AAC in the classroom or therapy setting, but less is known about how AAC is used in the family home. Few studies are…

Few measures are appropriate to assess autism symptoms in minimally verbal adolescents and adults. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2, Lord et al., in Autism diagnostic observation schedule--2nd edition (ADOS-2). Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles, 2012) Modules 1 and 2 were designed and validated with…

Phenotypical heterogeneity in language abilities is a hallmark of autism but remains poorly understood. The present study collected naturalistic language samples from parent-child interactions. We quantified verbal abilities (mean length of utterance, tokens, types) of 50 Chinese-speaking children (M = 5; 6) and stratified subgroups based on their…

Identifying and measuring anxiety in young people on the autism spectrum can be challenging. The present study investigated the use of the Anxiety Scale for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASC-ASD), a self- and caregiver-rated screening tool in a Singaporean sample of ninety-one verbal autistic youths and their caregivers. Internal…

We examined whether perspective taking (or Theory of Mind) deficits that characterize autistic individuals predict whether they have trouble extricating themselves from situations in which police officers erroneously suspect them of a crime. Autistic and typically developing adults listened to scenarios in which they were placed in situations…

This initial study used an equivalent-groups design to evaluate differences in story comprehension scores between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their neurotypical (NT) peers using paper and iPad® storybooks. Fifteen children with ASD of ages 4-6 and 15 NT peers matched for receptive vocabulary age and gender met inclusion…

Despite the importance of expressive language for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), expressive language assessments are not consistently included in ASD research and many studies do not adequately describe participants' verbal abilities. A valid and efficient measure of expressive language would facilitate consistent reporting…

Scores derived from intelligence instruments predict many important outcomes in life, so it is not surprising that researchers and clinicians seek out interventions aimed at increasing these scores. Dixon et al. (J Behav Educ, 2019. https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1007/s10864-019-09344-7) recently investigated the relation between instruction based on…

The present study examined the content of applied behavior analytic therapy (ABA therapy) on skill acquisition and intelligence test scores of twenty-eight children with autism and related disabilities. Using a randomized controlled trial, we compared (a) traditional ABA consisting of verbal behavior techniques developed by Skinner (Verbal…