Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit disordered speech prosody, but sources of disordered prosody remain poorly understood. We explored patterns of temporal alignment and prosodic grouping in a speech-based metronome repetition task as well as manual coordination in a drum tapping task among Cantonese speakers with ASD and…

We re-evaluate conclusions about disfluency production in high-functioning forms of autism spectrum disorder (HFA). Previous studies examined individuals with HFA to address a theoretical question regarding speaker- and listener-oriented disfluencies. Individuals with HFA tend to be self-centric and have poor pragmatic language skills, and should…

Language abilities in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are variable and can be challenging to ascertain with confidence. This study aimed to compare and evaluate different forms of language assessment: standardized language testing, narrative analysis and parent/teacher reports. 14 adolescents with ASD and 14 typically developing…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; P.L. 108-446) is the primary source of federal funding to states for the identification and education of children with disabilities. The majority of IDEA appropriations are allocated to states by formula to carry out activities under Part B, which covers 14 disability categories. Each state is…

Language-impaired individuals with autism perform poorly on tests such as non-word repetition that are sensitive clinical markers of specific language impairment (SLI). This has fuelled the theory that language impairment in autism represents a co-morbid SLI. However, the underlying cause of these deficits may be different in each disorder. In a…

Purpose: The purpose of this research forum article is to provide an overview of a collection of invited articles on the topic "specific language impairment (SLI) in children with concomitant health conditions or nonmainstream language backgrounds." Topics include SLI, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder,…

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) have traditionally been considered a lifelong condition; however, a subset of people makes such significant improvements that they no longer meet diagnostic criteria for an ASD. The current study examines whether these "optimal outcome" (OO) children and adolescents continue to have subtle pragmatic…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders have impairments in language acquisition, but the underlying mechanism of these deficits is poorly understood. Implicit learning is potentially relevant to language development, particularly in speech segmentation, which relies on sensitivity to transitional probabilities between speech sounds. This study…

We investigate two aspects of the autism triad, communication and social difficulties, in relatives of specific language impairment (SLI) probands (with and without additional autistic symptomatology) as compared to relatives of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Down's syndrome (DS) probands. Findings involving 726 first degree relatives of 85…

Aim: The aim of this study was to characterize the auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) of young children with suspected autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and compare them with the ABRs of children with language delay and with clinical norms. Method: The ABRs of 26 children with suspected ASDs (21 males, five females; mean age 32.5 mo) and an age-…

This article investigates the impact of transitions upon pupils aged 11-14 with speech, language and communication needs, including specific language impairment and autism. The aim is to identify stress factors, examine whether these affect any subgroups in particular and suggest practical strategies to support pupils through transitions. Stress…

This investigation compared attainment in 196,405 students with and without disabilities who were taking courses by distance learning with the Open University in the United Kingdom in 2009. When the effects of demographic variables were statistically controlled, students with mental health difficulties showed poorer course completion than…

Preschoolers with severe autism and minimal speech were assigned either a discrete trial or a naturalistic language treatment, and parents of all participants also received parent responsiveness training. After 12 weeks, both groups showed comparable improvement in number of spoken words produced, on average. Approximately half the children in…

In a sample of 46 children aged 4-7 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intelligible speech, there was no statistical support for the hypothesis of concomitant Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Perceptual and acoustic measures of participants' speech, prosody, and voice were compared with data from 40 typically-developing children, 13…

Anecdotal reports indicate that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often preoccupied with television, computers, and video games (screen-based media). However, few studies have examined this issue. The current study examined screen-based media use among a large, nationally representative sample of youths participating in the…