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…

Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children enables earlier access to services and better ability to predict subsequent development. A vast body of literature consistently shows discrepancies in the age of diagnosis between children from varying socio-economic levels, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The present study examines…

The present study investigated whether Mandarin-speaking preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were able to use prosodic cues to understand others' communicative intentions. Using the visual world eye-tracking paradigm, the study found that unlike typically developing (TD) 4-year-olds, both 4-year-olds with ASD and 5-year-olds…

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of persistent language and literacy difficulties. This study investigated the effectiveness of an 8-week parent-implemented shared book reading intervention designed to change parent and child book reading behaviours. Sixteen parents and their preschoolers on the autism…

Preschoolers on the autism spectrum are at risk of persistent language and literacy difficulties thus research into shared book reading (SBR) in this group is important. We observed 47 parents and their verbal preschoolers on the spectrum sharing two unfamiliar picture books and coded the interactions for parent and child behaviors. Parents were…

Gesture comprehension remains understudied, particularly in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have difficulties in gesture production. Using a novel gesture comprehension task, Study 1 examined how 2- to 4-year-old typically-developing (TD) children comprehend types of gestures and gesture-speech combinations, and showed better…

Previous studies report that minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder show impaired picture comprehension when matched to typically developing controls on language comprehension. Here, we compare "both" picture comprehension and picture production abilities in linguistically delayed children with autism spectrum disorder…

Visual attention and active engagement during shared book reading are important for facilitating emergent literacy learning during the preschool years. Children on the autism spectrum often show difficulties in language and literacy development, yet research investigating potential indicators of shared book reading engagement, including visual…

Purpose: When learning novel word forms, preschoolers with developmental language disorder (DLD; also known as "specific language impairment") produce speech targets inaccurately and with a high degree of intraword variability. The aim of the current study is to specify whether and how layering lexical-semantic information onto novel…

We examined the effect of a modified dialogic reading intervention on levels of verbal participation and vocabulary growth in nine preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using single-case design methodology. Baseline book reading resulted in consistently low levels of verbal participation followed by an immediate increase in verbal…

The two prior studies that have examined associations between the sibling constellation and theory of mind in autism spectrum disorder yielded discrepant findings. Thus, efforts to better understand the sibling-theory of mind link in autism spectrum disorder are necessary. This study examined a sample of prekindergarten- and kindergarten-aged…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit generalization errors, but many instructional programs fail to address this deficit. Generalization errors encompass when the learner should extend the use of a newly taught behavior to other contexts but does not (under-generalization), as well as when he or she should not use the…

The provision of reinforcement to increase desired behaviors is a crucial element of behavior analytic intervention for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Formal preference assessments, like the multiple stimulus without replacement procedure (MSWO), are often used to determine reinforcers used during intervention. While…

Background: This study examined language development in young children with hearing loss and different types of additional disabilities (ADs). Method: A population-based cohort of 67 children who were enrolled in the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study took part. Language ability was directly assessed at 3 and 5 years…

Today, the use of formal preference assessments, including paired-stimulus preference assessments, is widely utilized to help determine which items to use as reinforcers during intervention. A second way to determine potential reinforcers is to analyze multiple dimensions of a stimulus in the moment, a procedure known as in-the-moment reinforcer…