Defining Spoken Language Benchmarks and Selecting Measures of Expressive Language Development for Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Top Cited Papers
- 1 June 2009
- journal article
- Published by American Speech Language Hearing Association in Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
- Vol. 52 (3), 643-652
- https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0136)
Abstract
The aims of this article are twofold: (a) to offer a set of recommended measures that can be used for evaluating the efficacy of interventions that target spoken language acquisition as part of treatment research studies or for use in applied settings and (b) to propose and define a common terminology for describing levels of spoken language ability in the expressive modality and to set benchmarks for determining a child’s language level in order to establish a framework for comparing outcomes across intervention studies. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders assembled a group of researchers with interests and experience in the study of language development and disorders in young children with autism spectrum disorders. The group worked for 18 months through a series of conference calls and correspondence, culminating in a meeting held in December 2007 to achieve consensus on these aims. The authors recommend moving away from using the term functional speech, replacing it with a developmental framework. Rather, they recommend multiple sources of information to define language phases, including natural language samples, parent report, and standardized measures. They also provide guidelines and objective criteria for defining children’s spoken language expression in three major phases that correspond to developmental levels between 12 and 48 months of age.This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evidence-Based Comprehensive Treatments for Early AutismJournal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2008
- Language Assessment and Development in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum DisordersJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2008
- CDC: Autism Spectrum Disorders CommonJAMA, 2007
- Language and Communication in AutismPublished by Wiley ,2005
- Predicting language outcome in infants with autism and pervasive developmental disorderInternational Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 2003
- A Follow‐Up Study of High‐Functioning Autistic ChildrenJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1992
- Outcome and prognostic factors in infantile autism and similar conditions: A population-based study of 46 cases followed through pubertyJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1987
- Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1987
- Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1987
- Outcomes of severe disorders of language acquisitionJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1984