Expressive Dominant Versus Receptive Dominant Language Patterns in Young Children: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development.

We examined language profiles of 2571 children, 30-68 months old, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), other developmental disabilities (DD), and typical development from the general population (POP). Children were categorized as expressive dominant (ED), receptive dominant (RD), or nondominant (ND). Within each group, the ED profile was the least frequent. However, children in the ASD group were more likely to display an ED profile than those in the DD or POP groups, and these children were typically younger, had lower nonverbal cognitive skills, and displayed more severe social-affect symptoms of ASD compared to their peers with RD or ND profiles. These findings have research and clinical implications related to the focus of interventions targeting young children with ASD and other DDs.

Family Experiences with the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: System Barriers and Facilitators of Efficient Diagnosis.

This paper examines family experiences with the efficiency of ASD diagnosis. Children were age 8 or younger with ASD (n = 450). Outcomes were delay from first parent concern to diagnosis, shifting diagnoses, and being told child did not have ASD. Predictors were screening, travel distance, and problems finding providers. Logit models were used to examine associations. Screening was associated with reduced delay in diagnosis; problems finding providers were associated with greater delay. Screening, travel distance, and delay in diagnosis were associated with shifting diagnoses and being told child did not have ASD. Physician and parent training in communication and addressing mental health professional shortages and maldistribution may improve the diagnosis experiences of families of children with ASD.

Story recall and inferencing skills in language/learning-disabled and nondisabled children.

Children's ability to recall information and draw inferences from orally presented narratives was examined in sixteen 9- to 10-year-old language/learning-disabled (LLD) children and two groups of normally developing children (sixteen 9- to 10-year-olds and sixteen 6- to 7-year-olds). Short fable-like stories were presented to the children, followed by a series of premise and inference questions (half true and half false). The children were also asked to retell each story in their own words either before or after the question sets. Significant overall differences in performance (p less than .05) were seen between the LLD group and the age-matched control group and between the two control groups. The LLD children did not differ significantly from the younger aged control group. Additionally the LLD group exhibited significantly more disparity between the true and false questions than the age-matched controls. For all the groups, inference questions were significantly more difficult than premise questions. Recall of the story prior to answering questions had no effect on question answering.

A treatment protocol for young children at risk for severe expressive output disorders.

The proposed protocol is intended for use with young children who are at risk for severe expressive output disorders in the presence of typically developing receptive, play, and cognitive abilities. It is specifically designed for children who exhibit avoidance of verbal interaction and poor imitative skills. The approach follows a normal progression of sound and syllable structure development and is sequenced so that targets emerge into conversational speech as soon as possible.

Developing assistive technology strategies for infants and toddlers with communication difficulties.

Communication is a process that begins at birth and continues throughout life. For young children with developmental delay or disability, the acquisition of expected communication skills may be compromised. Compromised communication skills, in turn, may lead to additional challenges when participating in daily activities and routines, forming social relationships, and developing independence. Assistive technology (AT) is one means by which a child's current communication skills can be expanded and enhanced within the child's natural environment. Increased awareness by both parents and professionals of the availability of AT has led to the inclusion of AT strategies within routine day-to-day early intervention practices. This article briefly highlights early aspects of communication development in typically developing infants and toddlers, then provides a framework through which AT strategies can be identified and utilized by parents and professionals to improve a child's existing communication skills.