Purpose: It has been reported that tone language-speaking children with autism demonstrate speech-specific lexical tone processing difficulty, although they have intact or even better-than-normal processing of nonspeech/melodic pitch analogues. In this early efficacy study, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of Auditory-Motor Mapping Training…

Previous evidence suggests that language function is modulated by genetic variants on chromosome 7q31-36. However, it is unclear whether this region harbors loci that contribute to speech delay in autism. We previously reported that the WNT2 gene located on 7q31 was associated with the risk of autism. Additionally, two other genes on 7q31-36,…

This study used a multiple probe across participants' research design to evaluate the effects of instruction on the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences (LSCs) by three young children with autism spectrum disorder and limited speech. All three children (ages 3-5 years) reached criterion for identifying the LSCs targeted during instruction,…

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…

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…

Evidence to support stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) in speech acquisition is less than robust, calling into question the ability of SSP to reliably establish automatically reinforcing properties of speech and limiting the procedure's clinical utility for increasing vocalizations. We evaluated the effects of a modified SSP procedure on…

Developmental disorders might differ in their language profiles when using parent reports. The first study indicated that school aged children with ASD have similar language profiles as children with ADHD. Both groups had relatively more difficulties with pragmatics than with structural language aspects. The second study indicated that both…

Genetic factors are important contributors to language and learning disorders, and discovery of the underlying genes can help delineate the basic neurological pathways that are involved. This information, in turn, can help define disorders and their perceptual and processing deficits. Initial molecular genetic studies of dyslexia, for example,…

This article presents a developmental perspective on language acquisition that can serve as a framework for understanding and treating the language and communication challenges faced by children with autism. Profiles of five children (ages 3-7) with autism spectrum disorders are discussed to illustrate the application of a Developmental…

A study compared 11 preschool children with developmental delays and 15 with autism to evaluate early vocal behaviors in young children with autism. Results indicated that children with autism did not have difficulty with the expression of well-formed syllables, however they did display significant impairments in vocal quality. (Contains…

A study compared children with autism or Asperger syndrome with speech delays (n=23) with those without speech delays (n=24). No significant differences were found on any of the 71 variables analyzed, including autistic symptoms and expressive language. Results suggest that early speech delay may be irrelevant to later functioning. (Contains…