Profiles were associated with language and were illustrated by heterogeneity with potentially unequal achievements between code- and meaning-based skills. Implications for speech-language pathologists and other educators are provided.
This study analyzes the emergent use of gestures used among 9-12-month-old infants with autism and typical development using retrospective video analysis. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the frequency, initiation, prompting, and diversity of types of gestures used for social interaction purposes. It was hypothesized that a restricted variety in type(s) of gestures as well as fewer child-initiated gestures and more prompted gestures would be associated with later diagnosis of autism. Logistic regression analysis found that decreased variety in type of gestures used was significantly associated with autism status. Neither number of total gestures nor initiation of gestures (child-initiated vs. prompted) was significantly associated with autism status.
A comparative analysis between emergent procedural and conceptual print-related achievements was conducted for 32 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) aged 4 to 8 years. To minimize the influence of linguistic competence on the assessment, the ASD print-related profile was compared with that of a language-matched sample of typically developing peers. Two factors associated with young children's print-related achievements, their print motivation and home-based experiences, were illustrated for the matched participants. We found that children with ASD earned significantly higher scores on a parentally reported composite measure of emergent procedural (e.g., letter name identification) than conceptual (e.g., pretend reading) print-related accomplishments. The children with ASD were more often reported by their parents as motivated by letters but less likely to request or enjoy shared reading than their language-matched peers. Findings provide a preliminary profile of emergent print-related accomplishments that may be considered in educational planning for children with ASD.
This article suggests literacy interventions that target critical oral language and literacy skills that have been well documented as areas of need among many students with ASD. SLPs can draw on this information when designing and implementing transdiciplinary literacy interventions for this growing population of students whose literacy needs are currently underserved.
This article provides clinicians and educators a useful conceptualization of general instructional strategies often used to promote the performance of requests in children with developmental disabilities, and which can be applied in interventions that utilize augmentative and alternative communication. A case study illustrates the specialized intervention of a 7-yearold boy with Down syndrome taught to make requests using a picture-based strategy. The intervention describes how environmental arrangement and generalized cues were used to promote spontaneous communicative attempts during a reinforcing social-communicative context, and explains how prompting and modeling were used to facilitate the performance of effective communication behaviors across multiple requesting opportunities. Following the intervention, the child showed significant increases in his use of functional communication, with collateral gains in speech, as demonstrated by the performance of requests. These results are discussed within the context of the extant research. Relevant practical considerations for clinicians and educators are provided.
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