Speech Development Across Subgroups of Autistic Children: A Longitudinal Study.

Subgroups of children with different speech profiles have been described however, little is known about the trajectories of speech development or stability of subgroups over time. This longitudinal study described both speech trajectories and subgroup stability of 22 autistic children, aged 2;0-6;11 years, over 12 months. Independent and relational speech analyses, vocabulary size and nonverbal communication were used in clustering. Results suggest varied speech trajectories, particularly for children with 'low language and low speech' at Time 1. Receptive vocabulary and consonant inventory at Time 1 may predict speech outcomes after 12 months. A small subgroup of children (n = 3) present with low expressive vocabulary and speech but higher receptive vocabulary and use of gestures. This unique profile remained stable.

Speech Abilities in a Heterogeneous Group of Children With Autism.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to provide detailed descriptive information about the speech of a heterogeneous cohort of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to explore whether subgroups exist based on this detailed speech data. High rates of delayed and disordered speech in both low-verbal and high-functioning children with ASD have been reported. There is limited information regarding the speech abilities of young children across a range of functional levels. METHOD: Participants were 23 children aged 2;0-6;11 (years;months) with a diagnosis of ASD. Comprehensive speech and language assessments were administered. Independent and relational speech analyses were conducted from single-word naming tasks and spontaneous speech samples. Hierarchical clustering based on language, nonverbal communication, and spontaneous speech descriptive data was completed. RESULTS: Independent and relational speech analyses are reported. These variables are used in the cluster analyses, which identified three distinct subgroups: (a) children with high language and high speech ability (n = 10), (b) children with low expressive language and low speech ability but higher receptive language and use of gestures (n = 3), and (c) children with low language and low speech development (n = 10). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to provide detailed descriptive speech data of a heterogeneous cohort of children with ASD and use this information to statistically explore potential subgroups. Clustering suggests a small number of children present with low levels of speech and expressive language in the presence of better receptive language and gestures. This communication profile warrants further exploration. Replicating these findings with a larger cohort of children is needed. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16906978.

A Modified Reach-to-Grasp Task in a Supine Position Shows Coordination Between Elbow and Hand Movements After Stroke.

Objective: A modified reach-to-grasp task has been developed for the purpose of investigating arm-hand coordination in a supine position in the functional magnetic resonance imaging environment. The objective of this study was to investigate the kinematics of the reach-to-grasp task, in stroke and healthy participants. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: Movement laboratory. Participants: Ten stroke participants and 10 age-matched healthy participants performed 10 repetitions of the modified reach-to-grasp task in two conditions-a natural condition and a standardized condition in a splint. Intervention: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Kinematic variables of start time of transport, start time of aperture, movement duration, time of peak velocity (PV), percentage time of PV, peak deceleration (PD), percentage time of PD, peak aperture (PA), time of PA, and percentage time of PA were recorded. The correlation between key events in the grasp and transport trajectories were investigated. Performance between conditions and groups were compared. Results: Both groups demonstrated a significant correlation between the start time of aperture and the start time of transport and between the time of PA and PV in both conditions. A significant correlation was found between the time of PA and the PD in both conditions for the healthy group, but in neither condition for the stroke group. Movements by participants with stroke had a significantly longer movement duration, a smaller PV, and an earlier absolute time of PV and PD, and an earlier percentage time of PV and PD. They also had a smaller aperture than healthy participants. Wearing the splint resulted in a significantly higher PV, later absolute and percentage time of PV, PD, and PA, and a smaller PA compared to moving without the splint. The timing of transport variables time to peak velocity and time to peak deceleration, were strongest determinants of movement duration. Conclusion: The modified reach-to-grasp movement performed without the constraint of the splint, demonstrates similar motor control and coordination between the grasp and transport components of reach-to-grasp as in seated reach-to-grasp. This provides a new task that may be used to explore reach-to-grasp in the fMRI environment.

Australian children with cleft palate achieve age-appropriate speech by 5 years of age.

INTRODUCTION: Children with cleft palate demonstrate atypical speech sound development, which can influence their intelligibility, literacy and learning. There is limited documentation regarding how speech sound errors change over time in cleft palate speech and the effect that these errors have upon mono-versus polysyllabic word production. The objective of this study was to examine the phonetic and phonological speech skills of children with cleft palate at ages 3 and 5. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational design was used. Eligible participants were aged 3 or 5 years with a repaired cleft palate. The Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) Articulation subtest and a non-standardised list of mono- and polysyllabic words were administered once for each child. The Profile of Phonology (PROPH) was used to analyse each child's speech. RESULTS: N = 51 children with cleft palate participated in the study. Three-year-old children with cleft palate produced significantly more speech errors than their typically-developing peers, but no difference was apparent at 5 years. The 5-year-olds demonstrated greater phonetic and phonological accuracy than the 3-year-old children. Polysyllabic words were more affected by errors than monosyllables in the 3-year-old group only. CONCLUSIONS: Children with cleft palate are prone to phonetic and phonological speech errors in their preschool years. Most of these speech errors approximate typically-developing children by 5 years. At 3 years, word shape has an influence upon phonological speech accuracy. Speech pathology intervention is indicated to support the intelligibility of these children from their earliest stages of development.

A Systematic Review of Speech Assessments for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Recommendations for Best Practice.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review was to provide a summary and evaluation of speech assessments used with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A subsequent narrative review was completed to ascertain the core components of an evidence-based pediatric speech assessment, which, together with the results of the systematic review, provide clinical and research guidelines for best practice. METHOD: A systematic search of eight databases was used to find peer-reviewed research articles published between 1990 and 2014 assessing the speech of children with ASD. Eligible articles were categorized according to the assessment methods used and the speech characteristics described. RESULTS: The review identified 21 articles that met the inclusion criteria, search criteria, and confidence in ASD diagnosis. The speech of prelinguistic participants was assessed in seven articles. Speech assessments with verbal participants were completed in 15 articles with segmental and suprasegmental aspects of speech analyzed. Assessment methods included connected speech samples, single-word naming tasks, speech imitation tasks, and analysis of the production of words and sentences. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and research guidelines for speech assessment of children with ASD are outlined. Future comparisons will be facilitated by the use of consistent reporting methods in research focusing on children with ASD.