Brief Report: Parent Verbal Responsiveness and Language Development in Toddlers on the Autism Spectrum

Abstract

This study examined the longitudinal associations between parent verbal responsiveness and language three years later in 34 toddlers with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parent-child play samples were coded for child engagement and communication acts and for parent verbal responsiveness. Measures of responsive verbal behaviors were used to predict language gain scores three years later. Parent directives for language that followed into the child’s focus of attention were predictive of child receptive language gains. Parent comments that followed into the child’s focus of attention yielded differential effects depending on initial levels of child language. Children who were minimally verbal at age 2½ benefited from parent comments that followed into the their focus of attention, whereas children who were verbally fluent did not demonstrate such a benefit.

Parents’ Translations of Child Gesture Facilitate Word Learning in Children with Autism, Down Syndrome and Typical Development

“…For example, some of the previous work (Haebig et al, 2013; McDuffie & Yoder, 2010) did not show evidence of an effect of parents' translation of child gesture in the subsequent language development of children with AU. However, this earlier work relied on standardized vocabulary assessments (e.g., MCDI, Fenson et al, 2003; PLS-4, Zimmerman et al, 2002) as the outcome measure rather than focusing on the emergence of individual vocabulary items in children's spontaneous language use in parent-child interactions.…”

“…For example, McDuffie and Yoder (2010) found no relationship between parents' responses to their 3-year-old children's nonverbal communicative acts and children's later expressive vocabulary, as measured by the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI, Fenson et al, 1993). Similarly, Haebig et al (2013) found no relation between parents' responsiveness to their 2½ -year-old children's nonverbal communications and children's language 3 years later, as measured by the Preschool Language Scales (PLS-4, Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 2002; but see Leezenbaum, Campbell, Butler, & Iverson, 2014, for a discussion on the positive impact of parents' responsiveness to the nonverbal communicative acts produced by children at heightened risk for AU). Thus, to date, there is no published work that specifically focuses on parents' responsiveness to gestures of children diagnosed with AU, particularly to gestures that indicate objects, which, as we note above, have been repeatedly shown to play a significant role in later vocabulary development.…”

“…The few existing studies (Haebig, McDuffie, & Weismer, 2013; McDuffie & Yoder, 2010) focused on parents' responsiveness to a broader range of nonverbal child communicative behaviors, including not only gestures but also baby signs, non-word vocalizations, and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) symbols; none of these studies showed a significant relation between these broad early nonverbal behaviors and later language outcomes. For example, McDuffie and Yoder (2010) found no relationship between parents' responses to their 3-year-old children's nonverbal communicative acts and children's later expressive vocabulary, as measured by the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI, Fenson et al, 1993).…”

Use of the ADOS for Assessing Spontaneous Expressive Language in Young Children With ASD: A Comparison of Sampling Contexts

“…Participants were 63 children (55 males) with ASD with a mean age of 45 months ( SD = 3.94, Range = 37 - 53) recruited as part of a larger longitudinal study (Ellis Weismer et al, 2011; Haebig, McDuffie, & Ellis Weismer, 2013a, 2013b; Ray-Subramanian & Ellis Weismer, 2012; Ray-Subramanian, Huai, & Ellis Weismer, 2011; Venker, Eernisse, Saffran, & Ellis Weismer, 2013) examining language development in toddlers and preschoolers with ASD. Participants in the larger longitudinal study were recruited through local early intervention programs, developmental medical clinics, and posted fliers and magazine and newspaper advertisements in the state of Wisconsin.…”

Early Predictors of Growth in Diversity of Key Consonants Used in Communication in Initially Preverbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Past work has demonstrated that parent linguistic responses to child leads are associated with later receptive language in children with ASD who are in the early stages of language development (Haebig, McDuffie, & Weismer, 2013a; 2013b; BLINDED et al, 2015). Studies have additionally shown links for early attention to child directed speech and intentional communication with later receptive language in this population (BLINDED et al, 2015).…”