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Christensen ZP, Freedman EG, Foxe JJ. Autism is associated with in vivo changes in gray matter neurite architecture. Autism Res 2024. [PMID: 39324563 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/27/2024]
Abstract
Postmortem investigations in autism have identified anomalies in neural cytoarchitecture across limbic, cerebellar, and neocortical networks. These anomalies include narrow cell mini-columns and variable neuron density. However, difficulty obtaining sufficient post-mortem samples has often prevented investigations from converging on reproducible measures. Recent advances in processing magnetic resonance diffusion weighted images (DWI) make in vivo characterization of neuronal cytoarchitecture a potential alternative to post-mortem studies. Using extensive DWI data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Developmentsm (ABCD®) study 142 individuals with an autism diagnosis were compared with 8971 controls using a restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) framework that characterized total neurite density (TND), its component restricted normalized directional diffusion (RND), and restricted normalized isotropic diffusion (RNI). A significant decrease in TND was observed in autism in the right cerebellar cortex (β = -0.005, SE =0.0015, p = 0.0267), with significant decreases in RNI and significant increases in RND found diffusely throughout posterior and anterior aspects of the brain, respectively. Furthermore, these regions remained significant in post-hoc analysis when the autism sample was compared against a subset of 1404 individuals with other psychiatric conditions (pulled from the original 8971). These findings highlight the importance of characterizing neuron cytoarchitecture in autism and the significance of their incorporation as physiological covariates in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary P Christensen
- Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Edward G Freedman
- Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - John J Foxe
- Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
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Vacas J, Antolí A, Sánchez-Raya A, Pérez-Dueñas C, Cuadrado F. Eye-Tracking Methodology to Detect Differences in Attention to Faces Between Developmental Language Disorder and Autism. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2024; 67:3148-3162. [PMID: 39196850 DOI: 10.1044/2024_jslhr-24-00109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/30/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Developmental language disorder (DLD) and autism sometimes appear as overlapping conditions in behavioral tests. There is much literature on the visual scanning pattern (VSP) of faces in autistic children, but this is scarce regarding those with DLD. The purpose of this study was to compare the VSP of faces in young children with DLD, those with autism, and typically developing peers, assessing the effect of three variables. METHOD Two eye-tracking experiments were designed to assess the effect of the emotion and the poser's gender (Experiment 1) and the poser's age (Experiment 2) on the VSP of participants (Experiment 1: N = 59, age range: 32-74 months; Experiment 2: N = 58, age range: 32-74 months). We operationalized the VSP in terms of attentional orientation, visual preference, and depth of processing of each sort of face. We developed two paired preference tasks in which pairs of images of faces showing different emotions were displayed simultaneously to compete for children's attention. RESULTS Data analysis revealed two VSP markers common to both disorders: (a) superficial processing of faces and (b) late orientation to angry and child faces. Moreover, one specific marker for each condition was also found: typical preference for child faces in children with DLD versus diminished preference for them in autistic children. CONCLUSIONS Considering the similarities found between children with DLD and those with autism, difficulties of children with DLD in attention to faces have been systematically underestimated. Thus, more effort must be made to identify and respond to the needs of this population. Clinical practice may benefit from the potential of eye-tracking methodology and the analysis of the VSP to assess attention to faces in both conditions. This would also contribute to the improvement of early differential diagnosis in the long run.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Vacas
- Department of Psychology, University of Córdoba, Spain
- Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba, Reina Sofía University Hospital of Córdoba, Spain
- Early Childhood Intervention Center, University of Córdoba, Spain
| | - Adoración Antolí
- Department of Psychology, University of Córdoba, Spain
- Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba, Reina Sofía University Hospital of Córdoba, Spain
- Early Childhood Intervention Center, University of Córdoba, Spain
| | - Araceli Sánchez-Raya
- Department of Psychology, University of Córdoba, Spain
- Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba, Reina Sofía University Hospital of Córdoba, Spain
- Early Childhood Intervention Center, University of Córdoba, Spain
| | - Carolina Pérez-Dueñas
- Department of Psychology, University of Córdoba, Spain
- Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba, Reina Sofía University Hospital of Córdoba, Spain
| | - Fátima Cuadrado
- Department of Psychology, University of Córdoba, Spain
- Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba, Reina Sofía University Hospital of Córdoba, Spain
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Abd El-Raziq M, Meir N, Saiegh-Haddad E. Non-Word Repetition in Arabic-speaking children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A closer look into accuracy and error patterns. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2024:1-25. [PMID: 39258947 DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2024.2391904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/12/2024]
Abstract
Non-Word Repetition (NWR) tasks effectively identify language impairments and assess phonological skills across diverse populations and languages, including Arabic. Prior research revealed heterogeneity of performance in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on NWR tasks. The current study is the first to evaluate phonological skills of Palestinian-Arabic-speaking children with and without ASD, employing a Palestinian-Arabic NWR task. A total of 142 Palestinian-Arabic-speaking children, aged 5-11 participated in the study, including 75 children with Typical Language Development (TLD) and 67 children with ASD. The NWR task included 18 non-words of varying length (1-4 syllables) and complexity (with and without consonant clusters). Quantitative analysis examined the effects of length and phonological complexity on the NWR accuracy scores in children with TLD and ASD. Error pattern analysis accounting for phoneme and syllable substitutions/deletions/additions and lexicalisations aimed to shed light on the phonological representations of children with and without ASD. Within the ASD group, two subgroups emerged: 72% exhibited age-appropriate NWR performance, while 28% showed performance at-risk for phonological impairment. Non-word length, rather than complexity, significantly influenced the children's performance. Consonant substitution was the most frequent error pattern across all groups. On the theoretical side, these findings extend cross-linguistic evidence of phonological skill heterogeneity in children with ASD to Arabic-speaking children. Additionally, they highlight an overall delayed but qualitatively similar pattern of phonological development in children with ASD. On the clinical side, results underscore the importance of comprehensive language assessment in children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muna Abd El-Raziq
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Natalia Meir
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Elinor Saiegh-Haddad
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Girolamo T, Ghali S, Larson C. Sentence Production and Sentence Repetition in Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults: Linguistic Sensitivity to Finiteness Marking. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2024; 67:2297-2315. [PMID: 38768078 PMCID: PMC11253802 DOI: 10.1044/2024_jslhr-24-00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Despite the clinical utility of sentence production and sentence repetition to identify language impairment in autism, little is known about the extent to which these tasks are sensitive to potential language variation. One promising method is strategic scoring, which has good clinical utility for identifying language impairment in nonautistic school-age children across variants of English. This report applies strategic scoring to analyze sentence repetition and sentence production in autistic adolescents and adults. METHOD Thirty-one diverse autistic adolescents and adults with language impairment (ALI; n = 15) and without language impairment (ASD; n = 16) completed the Formulated Sentences and Recalling Sentences subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fifth Edition. Descriptive analyses and regression evaluated effects of scoring condition, group, and scoring condition by group on outcomes, as well as group differences in finiteness marking across utterances and morphosyntactic structures. RESULTS Strategic and unmodified item-level scores were essentially constant on both subtests and significantly lower in the ALI than the ASD group. Only group predicted item-level scores. Group differences were limited to: percent grammatical utterances on Formulated Sentences and percent production of overt structures combined on Sentence Repetition (ALI < ASD). DISCUSSION Findings support the feasibility of strategic scoring for sentence production and sentence repetition to identify language impairment and indicate that potential language variation in finiteness marking did not confound outcomes in this sample. To better understand the clinical utility of strategic scoring, replication with a larger sample varying in age and comparisons with dialect-sensitive measures are needed. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25822336.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Girolamo
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders, San Diego State University, CA
| | - Samantha Ghali
- Child Language Doctoral Program, The University of Kansas, Lawrence
| | - Caroline Larson
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Missouri, Columbia
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Girolamo T, Shen L, Gulick AM, Rice ML, Eigsti IM. Studies assessing domains pertaining to structural language in autism vary in reporting practices and approaches to assessment: A systematic review. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2024; 28:1602-1621. [PMID: 38145307 PMCID: PMC11189763 DOI: 10.1177/13623613231216155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), language impairment can co-occur with autism. It is not yet clear how research defines, reports, and characterizes structural language abilities of autistic individuals eligible for school-based special education services (aged 3-21 years) in the United States. In the United States, students typically must be formally diagnosed to be eligible for services and supports. However, the quality of diagnosis is only as good as the research evidence on which diagnosis depends. To evaluate evidence quality, we examined how studies of school-aged autistic individuals report assessments of language ability. This systematic review included 57 studies using English language age-referenced assessments used to measure structural language. Findings showed many differences across studies in how language abilities were measured and reported. Also, none of the studies fully reported the variables relevant to characterizing language impairment. Outcomes were similar across versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Findings indicate that researchers and clinicians should pay attention to reporting diagnostic and grouping criteria. Carefully interpreting research evidence is critical for ensuring that diagnostic criteria and supports are representative of and accessible to autistic individuals and relevant parties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Girolamo
- San Diego State University, USA
- University of Connecticut, USA
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Girolamo T, Ghali S, Larson C. Sentence production and sentence repetition in autistic adolescents and young adults: Linguistic sensitivity to finiteness-marking. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.03.26.24304924. [PMID: 38586015 PMCID: PMC10996725 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.26.24304924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Purpose Despite the clinical utility of sentence production and sentence repetition to identify language impairment in autism, little is known about the extent to which these tasks are sensitive to potential dialectal variation. One promising method is strategic scoring (Oetting et al., 2016), which has good clinical utility for identifying language impairment in nonautistic school-age children across dialects of English. This report applies strategic scoring to analyze sentence repetition and sentence production in autistic adolescents and adults. Method Thirty-one diverse autistic adolescents and adults with language impairment (ALI; n=15) and without language impairment (ASD; n=16) completed the Formulated Sentences and Recalling Sentences subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-5th Ed (Wiig et al., 2013). Descriptive analyses and regression evaluated effects of scoring condition, group, and scoring condition by group on outcomes, as well as group differences in finiteness-marking across utterances and morphosyntactic structures. Results Strategic and unmodified item-level scores were essentially constant on both subtests and significantly lower in the ALI than the ASD group. Only group predicted item-level scores. Group differences were limited to: percent grammatical utterances on Formulated Sentences and percent production of overt structures combined on Sentence Repetition (ALI < ASD). Discussion Findings support the feasibility of strategic scoring for sentence production and sentence repetition to identify language impairment and indicate that potential dialectal variation in finiteness-marking did not confound outcomes in this sample. To better understand the clinical utility of strategic scoring, replication with a larger sample varying in age and comparisons with dialect-sensitive measures are needed.
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Melogno S, Pinto MA, Vulchanova M. Insights into Oral and Written Competencies in Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Brain Sci 2024; 14:163. [PMID: 38391737 PMCID: PMC10886674 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14020163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of language abilities offers privileged insights to access the multifaceted world of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD, henceforth), showing how particular aspects of language may be handled differently as a function of typical neuropsychological features of specific disorders [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Melogno
- Department of Psychology of Development and Socialization Processes, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Faculty of Psychology, "Niccolò Cusano" University of Rome, 00166 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Antonietta Pinto
- Department of Psychology of Development and Socialization Processes, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Mila Vulchanova
- Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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Pereira T, Ramalho AM, Lousada M. Current practices of Portuguese speech-language pathologists with preschool-age children with pragmatic impairment: A cross-sectional survey. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2024:1-18. [PMID: 38287470 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000923000764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the practice patterns used by Portuguese speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with preschool-age children with pragmatic impairment and to identify the actual need(s) perceived by SLPs in this field. A total of 351 SLPs responded. The results reveal that 81.5 per cent of the respondents (n=286) reported working or had previously worked with preschool-age children with pragmatic impairment arising from autism spectrum disorder, developmental language disorder, or both. Considering the clinical practice, similarities and differences were found, many of which are due not to the inherent characteristics of each disorder but to the scarcity of research in clinical pragmatics. These results are also reflected in the needs perceived by SLPs and the degree of confidence with which they work with these children. Implications for clinical practice and directions for future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Pereira
- CINTESIS.UA@RISE, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- Center of Linguistics of the University of Lisbon (CLUL), Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Margarida Ramalho
- Center of Linguistics of the University of Lisbon (CLUL), Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Marisa Lousada
- CINTESIS.UA@RISE, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- Center of Linguistics of the University of Lisbon (CLUL), Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon, Portugal
- School of Health Sciences (ESSUA), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
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Abd El-Raziq M. Morphosyntactic skills in Arabic-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder: Evidence from error patterns in the sentence repetition task. AUTISM & DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS 2024; 9:23969415241234649. [PMID: 38616785 PMCID: PMC11015764 DOI: 10.1177/23969415241234649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Background and aims Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not traditionally been associated with morphosyntactic impairments, some children with ASD manifest significant difficulties in this domain. Sentence Repetition (SRep) tasks are highly reliable tools for detecting morphosyntactic impairment in different languages and across various populations, including children with ASD. This study is among the first to evaluate morphosyntactic abilities of Palestinian-Arabic (PA) speaking children using a PA SRep task. Methods A total of 142 PA-speaking children, aged 5-11, participated in the study: 75 children with typical language development (TLD) and 67 children with ASD. The PA SRep task targeted morphosyntactic structures of varying complexity (simple subject-verb-object [SVO] sentences, biclausal sentences, wh-questions, relative clauses). Children's accuracy scores were assessed across these structures and error patterns encompassing morphosyntactic and pragmatic aspects were analyzed. Results Two subgroups of ASD emerged: 43% showed age-appropriate language skills (ASD + NL) pairing up with TLD peers, while 57% showed signs of morphosyntactic impairment (ASD + LI). Children in both groups exhibited a higher frequency of morphosyntactic errors than pragmatic ones. Children with ASD + LI showed difficulties with producing complex morphosyntactic structures, such as relative clauses and object wh-questions. Error analysis revealed that children in the ASD + LI group produced sentence fragments and simplified constructions when complex structures were targeted. Conclusions The current study extends the cross-linguistic evidence of the heterogeneity of morphosyntactic profiles in children with ASD to Arabic-speaking children. Error analysis indicates that poor morphosyntax, rather than pragmatics, challenges children's performance on the SRep task. Implications Our results emphasize the importance of comprehensive language assessment in children with ASD and underscore the need for tailored intervention plans targeting impaired morphosyntactic structures in some children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muna Abd El-Raziq
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Girolamo T, Shen L, Gulick AM, Rice ML, Eigsti IM. Studies pertaining to language impairment in school-age autistic individuals underreport participant socio-demographics: A systematic review. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2023; 27:2218-2240. [PMID: 37157821 PMCID: PMC10592656 DOI: 10.1177/13623613231166749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Although exclusion of racially and ethnically minoritized autistic individuals from research is a long-standing issue, we have yet to determine how exclusion impacts areas of autism research important for identifying language impairment. Diagnosis depends on the quality of the evidence (i.e. research) and is often the pathway to gaining access to services. As a first step, we examined how research studies related to language impairment in school-age autistic individuals report participant socio-demographics. We analyzed reports using age-referenced assessments in English (n = 60), which are commonly used by both practitioners and researchers to diagnose or identify language impairment. Findings showed only 28% of studies reported any information on race and ethnicity; in these studies, most (at least 77%) of the participants were white. In addition, only 56% of studies reported gender or sex and specified what they were reporting (gender, sex, or gender identity). Just 17% reported socio-economic status using multiple indicators. Altogether, findings indicate broad issues with underreporting and exclusion of racially and ethnically minoritized individuals, which might overlay with other aspects of identity including socio-economic status. It is impossible to determine the extent and precise nature of exclusion without intersectional reporting. To ensure that language in autism research is representative of the autistic population, future research must implement reporting guidelines and broaden inclusion of who participates in research studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Girolamo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
- Connecticut Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Lue Shen
- Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University
| | | | - Mabel L. Rice
- Child Language Doctoral Program, University of Kansas
| | - Inge-Marie Eigsti
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
- Connecticut Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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11
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Maffei MF, Chenausky KV, Gill SV, Tager-Flusberg H, Green JR. Oromotor skills in autism spectrum disorder: A scoping review. Autism Res 2023; 16:879-917. [PMID: 37010327 PMCID: PMC10365059 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
Oromotor functioning plays a foundational role in spoken communication and feeding, two areas of significant difficulty for many autistic individuals. However, despite years of research and established differences in gross and fine motor skills in this population, there is currently no clear consensus regarding the presence or nature of oral motor control deficits in autistic individuals. In this scoping review, we summarize research published between 1994 and 2022 to answer the following research questions: (1) What methods have been used to investigate oromotor functioning in autistic individuals? (2) Which oromotor behaviors have been investigated in this population? and (3) What conclusions can be drawn regarding oromotor skills in this population? Seven online databases were searched resulting in 107 studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Included studies varied widely in sample characteristics, behaviors analyzed, and research methodology. The large majority (81%) of included studies report a significant oromotor abnormality related to speech production, nonspeech oromotor skills, or feeding within a sample of autistic individuals based on age norms or in comparison to a control group. We examine these findings to identify trends, address methodological aspects hindering cross-study synthesis and generalization, and provide suggestions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc F. Maffei
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Karen V. Chenausky
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Neurology Department, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Simone V. Gill
- College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Sargent College, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jordan R. Green
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Speech and Hearing Biosciences and Technology Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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12
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Schaeffer J, Abd El-Raziq M, Castroviejo E, Durrleman S, Ferré S, Grama I, Hendriks P, Kissine M, Manenti M, Marinis T, Meir N, Novogrodsky R, Perovic A, Panzeri F, Silleresi S, Sukenik N, Vicente A, Zebib R, Prévost P, Tuller L. Language in autism: domains, profiles and co-occurring conditions. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2023; 130:433-457. [PMID: 36922431 PMCID: PMC10033486 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-023-02592-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
This article reviews the current knowledge state on pragmatic and structural language abilities in autism and their potential relation to extralinguistic abilities and autistic traits. The focus is on questions regarding autism language profiles with varying degrees of (selective) impairment and with respect to potential comorbidity of autism and language impairment: Is language impairment in autism the co-occurrence of two distinct conditions (comorbidity), a consequence of autism itself (no comorbidity), or one possible combination from a series of neurodevelopmental properties (dimensional approach)? As for language profiles in autism, three main groups are identified, namely, (i) verbal autistic individuals without structural language impairment, (ii) verbal autistic individuals with structural language impairment, and (iii) minimally verbal autistic individuals. However, this tripartite distinction hides enormous linguistic heterogeneity. Regarding the nature of language impairment in autism, there is currently no model of how language difficulties may interact with autism characteristics and with various extralinguistic cognitive abilities. Building such a model requires carefully designed explorations that address specific aspects of language and extralinguistic cognition. This should lead to a fundamental increase in our understanding of language impairment in autism, thereby paving the way for a substantial contribution to the question of how to best characterize neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeannette Schaeffer
- Department of Literary and Cultural Analysis & Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 1642, 1000 BP, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | | | | | - Sandrine Ferré
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, INSERM, Tours, France
| | - Ileana Grama
- Department of Literary and Cultural Analysis & Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 1642, 1000 BP, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Marta Manenti
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, INSERM, Tours, France
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Agustín Vicente
- University of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
- Basque Foundation for Science, Ikerbasque, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Racha Zebib
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, INSERM, Tours, France
| | | | - Laurice Tuller
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, INSERM, Tours, France
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13
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O'Brien AM, Perrachione TK, Wisman Weil L, Sanchez Araujo Y, Halverson K, Harris A, Ostrovskaya I, Kjelgaard M, Kenneth Wexler, Tager-Flusberg H, Gabrieli JDE, Qi Z. Altered engagement of the speech motor network is associated with reduced phonological working memory in autism. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 37:103299. [PMID: 36584426 PMCID: PMC9830373 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Nonword repetition, a common clinical measure of phonological working memory, involves component processes of speech perception, working memory, and speech production. Autistic children often show behavioral challenges in nonword repetition, as do many individuals with communication disorders. It is unknown which subprocesses of phonological working memory are vulnerable in autistic individuals, and whether the same brain processes underlie the transdiagnostic difficulty with nonword repetition. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the brain bases for nonword repetition challenges in autism. We compared activation during nonword repetition in functional brain networks subserving speech perception, working memory, and speech production between neurotypical and autistic children. Autistic children performed worse than neurotypical children on nonword repetition and had reduced activation in response to increasing phonological working memory load in the supplementary motor area. Multivoxel pattern analysis within the speech production network classified shorter vs longer nonword-repetition trials less accurately for autistic than neurotypical children. These speech production motor-specific differences were not observed in a group of children with reading disability who had similarly reduced nonword repetition behavior. These findings suggest that atypical function in speech production brain regions may contribute to nonword repetition difficulties in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M O'Brien
- Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
| | - Tyler K Perrachione
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, USA
| | - Lisa Wisman Weil
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Emerson College, USA
| | | | - Kelly Halverson
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Houston, USA
| | - Adrianne Harris
- The Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, USA
| | | | - Margaret Kjelgaard
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bridgewater State University, USA
| | - Kenneth Wexler
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
| | | | - John D E Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
| | - Zhenghan Qi
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders & Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, USA
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14
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Andreou G, Lymperopoulou V, Aslanoglou V. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): similarities in pragmatic language abilities. A systematic review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2022; 70:777-791. [PMID: 39131763 PMCID: PMC11308961 DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2022.2132669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Objective Pragmatics can be defined as the appropriate use of language in social interactions. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) exhibit difficulties in pragmatic language (PL), but the nature and sources of these difficulties have not been fully investigated yet. The purpose of this paper is to critically review empirical literature on the PL of children with ASD as compared to that of children with DLD. Materials and methods Thirteen studies that met established inclusion criteria were identified and reviewed. Results Children with ASD and children with DLD demonstrated several similarities in PL. However, a lot of differences were observed and mainly children with ASD faced more profound difficulties than children with DLD, while PL may be a distinct marker between the two groups. Conclusion The differences observed in the language profiles of ASD and DLD show that even if there is an overlap in some domains, the PL abilities of children of both clinical populations are likely to be controlled by different mechanisms and therefore these differences in PL may be considered as a distinguishable feature between the two populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Andreou
- Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
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15
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Dai H, He X, Chen L, Yin C. Language impairments in children with developmental language disorder and children with high-functioning autism plus language impairment: Evidence from Chinese negative sentences. Front Psychol 2022; 13:926897. [PMID: 36248514 PMCID: PMC9554248 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.926897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
There is controversy as to whether children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and those with high-functioning autism plus language impairment (HFA-LI) share similar language profiles. This study investigated the similarities and differences in the production of Chinese negative sentences by children with DLD and children with HFA-LI to provide evidence relevant to this controversy. The results reflect a general resemblance between the two groups in their lower-than-TDA (typically developing age-matched) performance. Both groups encountered difficulties in using negative markers, which suggests that they might be impaired in feature agreement. Slight differences were detected between the two groups. Specifically, children with DLD experienced difficulties with the agreement on the feature [+telic] and that on the feature [+dynamic], while children with HFA-LI had difficulties with the agreement on the feature [+dynamic] and that on the feature [−dynamic]. This study supports the idea of a common symptomatology for the two disorders. More importantly, it suggests that these two disorders, DLD and HFA-LI, are not altogether the same in terms of language impairment. This paper concludes that general labels should not be simply attached to any children with language disorders. Instead, atypical language is very worthy of further analysis in the categorization of language disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huilin Dai
- School of Foreign Languages, Shaoyang University, Shaoyang, China
| | - Xiaowei He
- Faculty of English Language and Culture, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lijun Chen
- Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chan Yin
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Central Hospital of Shaoyang, Shaoyang, China
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16
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Alispahic S, Pellicano E, Cutler A, Antoniou M. Auditory perceptual learning in autistic adults. Autism Res 2022; 15:1495-1507. [PMID: 35789543 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The automatic retuning of phoneme categories to better adapt to the speech of a novel talker has been extensively documented across various (neurotypical) populations, including both adults and children. However, no studies have examined auditory perceptual learning effects in populations atypical in perceptual, social, and language processing for communication, such as populations with autism. Employing a classic lexically-guided perceptual learning paradigm, the present study investigated perceptual learning effects in Australian English autistic and non-autistic adults. The findings revealed that automatic attunement to existing phoneme categories was not activated in the autistic group in the same manner as for non-autistic control subjects. Specifically, autistic adults were able to both successfully discern lexical items and to categorize speech sounds; however, they did not show effects of perceptual retuning to talkers. These findings may have implications for the application of current sensory theories (e.g., Bayesian decision theory) to speech and language processing by autistic individuals. LAY SUMMARY: Lexically guided perceptual learning assists in the disambiguation of speech from a novel talker. The present study established that while Australian English autistic adult listeners were able to successfully discern lexical items and categorize speech sounds in their native language, perceptual flexibility in updating speaker-specific phonemic knowledge when exposed to a novel talker was not available. Implications for speech and language processing by autistic individuals as well as current sensory theories are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samra Alispahic
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Pellicano
- Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kindom
| | - Anne Cutler
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Language Comprehension Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australia
| | - Mark Antoniou
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Maksimović S, Jeličić L, Marisavljević M, Fatić S, Gavrilović A, Subotić M. Can EEG Correlates Predict Treatment Efficacy in Children with Overlapping ASD and SLI Symptoms: A Case Report. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12:1110. [PMID: 35626266 PMCID: PMC9139884 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12051110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Evaluation of the rehabilitation efficacy may be an essential indicator of its further implementation and planning. The research aim is to examine whether the estimation of EEG correlates of auditory-verbal processing in a child with overlapping autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) symptoms may be a predictor of the treatment efficacy in conditions when behavioral tests do not show improvement during the time course. The prospective case report reports follow-up results in a child aged 36 to 66 months. During continuous integrative therapy, autism risk index, cognitive, speech-language, sensory, and EEG correlates of auditory-verbal information processing are recorded in six test periods, and their mutual interrelation was analyzed. The obtained results show a high statistically significant correlation of all observed functions with EEG correlates related to the difference between the average mean values of theta rhythm in the left (F1, F3, F7) and right (F2, F4, F8) frontal region. The temporal dynamics of the examined processes point to the consistency of the evaluated functions increasing with time flow. These findings indicate that EEG correlates of auditory-verbal processing may be used to diagnose treatment efficacy in children with overlapping ASD and SLI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Slavica Maksimović
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Center”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (S.M.); (M.M.); (S.F.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ljiljana Jeličić
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Center”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (S.M.); (M.M.); (S.F.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Maša Marisavljević
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Center”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (S.M.); (M.M.); (S.F.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Saška Fatić
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Center”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (S.M.); (M.M.); (S.F.); (M.S.)
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Aleksandar Gavrilović
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia;
- Department of Neurophysiology, Clinic of Neurology, University Clinical Centre of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
| | - Miško Subotić
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute “Life Activities Advancement Center”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; (S.M.); (M.M.); (S.F.); (M.S.)
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Georgiou N, Spanoudis G. Developmental Language Disorder and Autism: Commonalities and Differences on Language. Brain Sci 2021; 11:589. [PMID: 33946615 PMCID: PMC8147217 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Language and communication deficits characterize both autism spectrum disorder and developmental language disorder, and the possibility of there being a common profile of these is a matter of tireless debate in the research community. This experimental study addresses the relation of these two developmental conditions in the critical topic of language. Α total of 103 children (79 males, 24 females) participated in the present study. Specifically, the study's sample consisted of 40 children with autism, 28 children with developmental language disorder, and 35 typically developing children between 6 and 12 years old. All children completed language and cognitive measures. The results showed that there is a subgroup inside the autism group of children who demonstrate language difficulties similar to children with developmental language disorder. Specifically, two different subgroups were derived from the autism group; those with language impairment and those without. Both autism and language-impaired groups scored lower than typically developing children on all language measures indicating a common pathology in language ability. The results of this study shed light on the relation between the two disorders, supporting the assumption of a subgroup with language impairment inside the autism spectrum disorder population. The common picture presented by the two developmental conditions highlights the need for further research in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - George Spanoudis
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus;
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19
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Andrés-Roqueta C, Garcia-Molina I, Flores-Buils R. Association between CCC-2 and Structural Language, Pragmatics, Social Cognition, and Executive Functions in Children with Developmental Language Disorder. CHILDREN-BASEL 2021; 8:children8020123. [PMID: 33572382 PMCID: PMC7916208 DOI: 10.3390/children8020123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
(1) Background: Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is diagnosed when the child experiences problems in language with no known underlying biomedical condition and the information required for its correct evaluation must be obtained from different contexts. The Children's Communication Checklist (CCC-2) covers aspects of a child's communication related to structural language and pragmatic skills, which are linked to social cognition or executive functions. The aim of this article is to examine parents' reports using the Spanish version of the CCC-2 questionnaire and its association with different formal assessments related to communication. (2) Methods: 30 children with DLD (3; 10-9 years old) and 39 age-matched (AM) children with typical development were assessed using formal measures of structural language, pragmatics, social cognition, and executive functions. Parents of children with DLD answered the Spanish version of the CCC-2. (3) Results: The performance of children with DLD was lower in all the formal assessments in comparison to AM children. The CCC-2 was significantly correlated with all the direct child assessments, although only formal measures of structural language predicted both the structural language and pragmatics scales of the CCC-2. (4) Conclusions: The CCC-2 answered by parents was consistent with formal assessments in children with DLD, and structural language seemed to be the best predictor of all the subscales.
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20
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Brito AR, Vairo GDPT, Dias APBH, Olej B, Nascimento OJM, Vasconcelos MM. Effect of prednisolone on language function in children with autistic spectrum disorder: a randomized clinical trial. J Pediatr (Rio J) 2021; 97:22-29. [PMID: 32330433 PMCID: PMC9432069 DOI: 10.1016/j.jped.2019.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe the effect of prednisolone on language in children with autism spectrum disorder. This study is based upon two hypotheses: autism etiology may be closely related to neuroinflammation; and, an effective treatment should restore the individual's language skills. METHOD This is a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, carried out in a federal university hospital. The initial patient sample consisted of 40 subjects, which were randomized into two parallel groups. Inclusion criteria were: male gender, 3-7 years of age, and meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 4th edition (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria. The final sample consisted of 38 patients, of whom 20 were randomized to the placebo group and 18 to the active group. The latter received prednisolone for 24 weeks, at an initial dose of 1mg/kg/day and a tapering dose from the ninth week onward. Language was measured on four occasions over a 12-month period by applying two Brazilian tools: the Language Development Assessment (ADL) and the Child Language Test in Phonology, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Pragmatics (ABFW). RESULTS The side effects were mild: two patients had hypertension, five had hyperglycemia, and two had varicella. Prednisolone increased the global ADL score in children younger than 5 years of age who had developmental regression (p=0.0057). The ABFW's total of communicative acts also responded favorably in those participants with regression (p=0.054). The ABFW's total of vocal acts showed the most significant results, especially in children younger than 5 years (p=0.004, power=0.913). CONCLUSIONS The benefit of prednisolone for language scores was more evident in participants who were younger than five years, with a history of developmental regression, but the trial's low dose may have limited this benefit. The observed side effects do not contraindicate corticosteroid use in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Rocha Brito
- Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Departamento Materno-Infantil, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
| | | | | | - Beni Olej
- Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Departamento de Medicina Clínica, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
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21
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Sanjeevan T, Hammill C, Brian J, Crosbie J, Schachar R, Kelley E, Liu X, Nicolson R, Iaboni A, Day Fragiadakis S, Ristic L, Lerch JP, Anagnostou E. Exploring the Neural Structures Underlying the Procedural Memory Network as Predictors of Language Ability in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:587019. [PMID: 33362492 PMCID: PMC7759764 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.587019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: There is significant overlap in the type of structural language impairments exhibited by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This similarity suggests that the cognitive impairment(s) contributing to the structural language deficits in ASD and ADHD may be shared. Previous studies have speculated that procedural memory deficits may be the shared cognitive impairment. The procedural deficit hypothesis (PDH) argues that language deficits can be explained by differences in the neural structures underlying the procedural memory network. This hypothesis is based on the premise that the neural structures comprising the procedural network support language learning. In this study, we aimed to test the PDH in children with ASD, ADHD, and typical development (TD). Methods: One hundred and sixty-three participants (ages 10–21): 91 with ASD, 26 with ADHD, and 46 with TD, completed standardized measures of cognitive and language ability as well as structural magnetic resonance imaging. We compared the structural language abilities, the neural structures underlying the procedural memory network, and the relationship between structural language and neural structure across diagnostic groups. Results: Our analyses revealed that while the structural language abilities differed across ASD, ADHD, and TD groups, the thickness, area, and volume of the structures supporting the procedural memory network were not significantly different between diagnostic groups. Also, several neural structures were associated with structural language abilities across diagnostic groups. Only two of these structures, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the left superior parietal gyrus, are known to be linked to the procedural memory network. Conclusions: The inferior frontal gyrus and the left superior parietal gyrus, have well-established roles in language learning independent of their role as part of the procedural memory system. Other structures such as the caudate and cerebellum, with critical roles in the procedural memory network, were not associated with structural language abilities across diagnostic groups. It is unclear whether the procedural memory network plays a fundamental role in language learning in ASD, ADHD, and TD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teenu Sanjeevan
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Jessica Brian
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Paediatrics, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer Crosbie
- Psychiatry Research, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Russell Schachar
- Psychiatry Research, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Kelley
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Xudong Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Robert Nicolson
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Alana Iaboni
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Leanne Ristic
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jason P Lerch
- Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Evdokia Anagnostou
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Paediatrics, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Howell P, Chua LY, Yoshikawa K, Tang HHS, Welmillage T, Harris J, Tang K. Does Working-Memory Training Given to Reception-Class Children Improve the Speech of Children at Risk of Fluency Difficulty? Front Psychol 2020; 11:568867. [PMID: 33329206 PMCID: PMC7718024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.568867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Procedures were designed to test for the effects of working-memory training on children at risk of fluency difficulty that apply to English and to many of the languages spoken by children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in UK schools. Working-memory training should: (1) improve speech fluency in high-risk children; (2) enhance non-word repetition (NWR) (phonological) skills for all children; (3) not affect word-finding abilities. Children starting general education (N = 232) were screened to identify those at risk of fluency difficulty. Children were selected who were at high-risk (12), or low-risk (27) of fluency difficulty. For the low-risk children 10 received, and 17 did not receive, the working-memory training. All children in the treatment groups received working-memory training over a 2-week period. For the high-risk group, fluency improved and lasted for at least a week after the end of the study. Phonological skills improved in this group and in the low-risk group who received the training and the improvements continued for at least a week. The low-risk group who did not receive working-memory training showed no improvements, and no group improved word-finding ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Howell
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Li Ying Chua
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kaho Yoshikawa
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Hau Shuen Tang
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Taniya Welmillage
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - John Harris
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Linguistics, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin Tang
- Department of Linguistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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Taylor LJ, Whitehouse AJO. Autism Spectrum Disorder, Language Disorder, and Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder: Overlaps, Distinguishing Features, and Clinical Implications. AUSTRALIAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ap.12222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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24
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Gaigg SB, Krug MK, Solomon M, Roestorf A, Derwent C, Anns S, Bowler DM, Rivera S, Nordahl CW, Jones EJH. Eye-Tracking Reveals Absent Repetition Learning Across the Autism Spectrum: Evidence From a Passive Viewing Task. Autism Res 2020; 13:1929-1946. [PMID: 32864896 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In the domain of memory, autism is characterized by difficulties in explicitly remembering the specific order of stimuli, whereas implicit serial order memory appears to be preserved. This pattern is of considerable interest because serial order memory is known to play a critical role in children's language development. Currently, however, few paradigms exist that can effectively probe serial order memory across heterogeneous groups of children, including those who are minimally verbal. We present two experiments, involving 39 adults (20 ASD; 19 TD) and 130 children (86 ASD; 44 TD), that address this issue using an eye-tracking paradigm, which simply required participants to "watch out for a bunny" that appeared in repeating sequences of screen locations. The adults in Experiment 1 all had normative IQs, whereas Experiment 2 included children with and without substantial language and intellectual difficulties. In both experiments gaze latencies and anticipatory fixations to the bunny indicated reliable repetition learning effects in the TD but not the ASD groups. Importantly, we were able to acquire reliable data from around half of the children with significant language impairments in Experiment 2, indicating that the paradigm can shed light on important learning processes in this underrepresented group. We discuss the implications of these findings for theories of memory in ASD as well as for the utility of eye-tracking technology to probe repetition learning effects in autism. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1929-1946. © 2020 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC. LAY SUMMARY: Remembering the specific order of stimuli plays an important role in language development and is thought to be a source of difficulty for autistic individuals. Research in this area, however, rarely includes autistic participants who are minimally verbal. Here we develop an eye-tracking paradigm that demonstrates serial order learning difficulties across the autism spectrum. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of the role of memory difficulties in the varied language profiles across the autism spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian B Gaigg
- Autism Research Group, Department of Psychology, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Marie K Krug
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis MIND Institute, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Marjorie Solomon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis MIND Institute, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Amanda Roestorf
- Autism Research Group, Department of Psychology, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Claire Derwent
- Autism Research Group, Department of Psychology, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Sophie Anns
- Department of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Dermot M Bowler
- Autism Research Group, Department of Psychology, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Susan Rivera
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis MIND Institute, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Christine Wu Nordahl
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis MIND Institute, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Emily J H Jones
- Centre for Brain & Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
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Jokel A, Armstrong E, Gabis L, Segal O. Associations and Dissociations among Phonological Processing Skills, Language Skills and Nonverbal Cognition in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Folia Phoniatr Logop 2020; 73:222-232. [PMID: 32829327 DOI: 10.1159/000505744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of phonological processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it pertains to their nonverbal cognitive and linguistic abilities. METHODS Twenty-one participants between the ages of 9 and 21 years were administered a nonverbal cognitive assessment (Raven test), a language measure that requires receptive and expressive knowledge of semantics, syntax and morphology, as well as the integration across these language domains (CELF-4), and a measure of phonological processing (CTOPP). RESULTS Results show that performance on nonword repetition (NWR) that reflects an aspect of phonological memory was significantly low, whereas performance on phoneme reversal, phoneme elision, blending words and memory for digits was within the normal range. Hierarchical regressions with age, nonverbal intelligence (Raven test) and receptive language (CELF) as predictors showed that for NWR and phoneme elision the receptive part of the CELF was the main significant -predictor, after controlling for age. For phoneme reversal and memory for digits, however, the Raven score was the significant predictor, suggesting that cognitive nonverbal ability is the main factor explaining variability in these tasks. CONCLUSIONS A deficit in phonological memory characterizes individuals in the autistic population. This deficit may influence language acquisition in this population consistent with other populations of children with language impairments. Other tasks of phonological awareness, however, might be preserved especially when they do not involve memory for long phonological sequences and when the cognitive abilities are within the norm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariela Jokel
- Department of Communication Disorders, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Erika Armstrong
- Communication Sciences and Disorders/Dental Hygiene, Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas, USA
| | - Lidia Gabis
- Weinberg Child Development Center, Safra Children's Hospital Tel-Hashomer, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Osnat Segal
- Department of Communication Disorders, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel,
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Marini A, Ozbič M, Magni R, Valeri G. Toward a Definition of the Linguistic Profile of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Psychol 2020; 11:808. [PMID: 32431644 PMCID: PMC7214763 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The current investigation assessed linguistic and narrative abilities in a cohort of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The linguistic assessment was performed with both traditional tests and a multilevel procedure for discourse analysis. The results showed difficulties at different stages of message planning, organization, and microlinguistic processing (i.e., lexical selection and grammatical processing). Their macrolinguistic impairments were likely related to more general difficulties in the prelinguistic conceptual phase of message planning and mental model generation. Such weaknesses included a difficulty in the non-verbal conceptualization of the story and the generation of an internal representation of the addressee's mental model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Marini
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
- Scientific Institute IRCCS “Eugenio Medea”, San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy
| | - Martina Ozbič
- Scientific Institute IRCCS “Eugenio Medea”, San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy
| | - Rita Magni
- Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Valeri
- Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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27
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Gladfelter A, Barron KL. How Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Language Disorder, and Typical Language Learn to Produce Global and Local Semantic Features. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10040231. [PMID: 32290453 PMCID: PMC7226439 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10040231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A local processing bias, often considered a cognitive style unique to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), may influence the types of semantic features acquired by children with ASD and could contribute to weaknesses in word learning. Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) also struggle to learn semantic aspects of words, but this cognitive style has not been ascribed to children with DLD. The purpose of this study was to explore whether global–local processing differences influence the type of semantic features children with ASD, DLD, and their neurotypical peers learn to produce when learning new words. Novel word definitions produced by 36 school-aged children (12 with ASD, 12 with DLD, and 12 with typical language) who participated in an extended word-learning paradigm were used to extract newly learned semantic features. These semantic features were then coded for global and local attributes and analyzed to detect whether there were differences between groups. Results indicated that the children with ASD and DLD produced more global, rather than local, semantic features in their definitions than the children with typical language. An over-reliance on global, rather than local, features in children with ASD and DLD may reflect deficits in depth of word knowledge.
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A Preliminary Study of Writing Skills in Adolescents with Autism Across Persuasive, Expository, and Narrative Genres. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 50:319-332. [PMID: 31625011 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04254-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Writing is often difficult for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet relatively little literature exists that profiles specific strengths and needs within this area. This preliminary investigation compares the written language skills of adolescents with ASD without intellectual disability (n = 14) to typically developing (TD) adolescents (n = 12). Writing samples from persuasive, expository, and narrative genres were elicited. Variables of sample length, writing productivity, syntax, lexical diversity, and macrostructure were analyzed. In the persuasive and expository genres, the ASD group scored significantly lower than the TD group on sample length and some aspects of macrostructure. The ASD group scored higher than the TD group on lexical diversity in the persuasive genre. Other comparisons yielded large effect sizes but were not statistically significant.
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Pigdon L, Willmott C, Reilly S, Conti-Ramsden G, Morgan AT. What predicts nonword repetition performance? Child Neuropsychol 2019; 26:518-533. [PMID: 31581884 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2019.1674799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Despite the widespread use of nonword repetition in child neuropsychological research and clinical practice, the specific cognitive, linguistic and motor processes that contribute to variability in performance are unclear. The aim of this work was to determine the role of phonological memory, word reading, oromotor sequencing, and oromotor control on nonword repetition performance in the context of children's speech and language abilities. Ninety one children between the ages of 9 and 11 years, with a broad range of speech and language abilities participated in the study. Hierarchical regression was used to a) evaluate the contribution of phonological memory, word reading, oromotor sequencing and oromotor control to nonword repetition and b) determine whether speech and/or language ability moderated the relationship between these specific skills and nonword repetition performance. Results showed all four predictor variables were related to nonword repetition performance, accounting for 59% of variance. The variable with the strongest association with nonword repetition was phonological memory, followed by oromotor sequencing ability, word reading, and oromotor control. Contrary to expectations, neither speech nor language ability were significantly associated with the degree to which these specific skills were drawn upon to perform the nonword repetition task. These findings underline the multidimensional nature of the nonword repetition task and provide further evidence of the major contributions made by phonological memory, word reading, speech sequencing and control to performance on this task. Further, findings suggest that speech and language ability, as measured here, do not significantly influence the skills employed for nonword repetition performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Pigdon
- Speech and Language, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.,Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Catherine Willmott
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.,Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sheena Reilly
- Speech and Language, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.,Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Gina Conti-Ramsden
- Speech and Language, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.,Division of Human Communication, development & Hearing, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Angela T Morgan
- Speech and Language, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.,University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.,Speech Pathology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
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Hare-Harris AE, Mitchel MW, Myers SM, Mitchel AD, King BR, Ruocco BG, Martin CL, Flax JF, Brzustowicz LM. Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index. J Neurodev Disord 2019; 11:21. [PMID: 31519145 PMCID: PMC6744656 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-019-9283-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Qualitatively atypical language development characterized by non-sequential skill acquisition within a developmental domain, which has been called developmental deviance or difference, is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We developed the Response Dispersion Index (RDI), a measure of this phenomenon based on intra-subtest scatter of item responses on standardized psychometric assessments, to assess the within-task variability among individuals with language impairment (LI) and/or ASD. Methods Standard clinical assessments of language were administered to 502 individuals from the New Jersey Language and Autism Genetics Study (NJLAGS) cohort. Participants were divided into four diagnostic groups: unaffected, ASD-only, LI-only, and ASD + LI. For each language measure, RDI was defined as the product of the total number of test items and the sum of the weight (based on item difficulty) of test items missed. Group differences in RDI were assessed, and the relationship between RDI and ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI was investigated for each language assessment. Results Although standard scores were unable to distinguish the LI-only and ASD/ASD + LI groups, the ASD/ASD + LI groups had higher RDI scores compared to LI-only group across all measures of expressive, pragmatic, and metalinguistic language. RDI was positively correlated with quantitative ASD traits across all subgroups and was an effective predictor of ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI. Conclusions The RDI is an effective quantitative metric of developmental deviance/difference that correlates with ASD traits, supporting previous associations between ASD and non-sequential skill acquisition. The RDI can be adapted to other clinical measures to investigate the degree of difference that is not captured by standard performance summary scores. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s11689-019-9283-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abby E Hare-Harris
- Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, Hartline Science Center, Bloomsburg University, 400 East Second St, Bloomsburg, PA, 17815, USA.
| | - Marissa W Mitchel
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, 120 Hamm Drive, Suite 2A, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Scott M Myers
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, 120 Hamm Drive, Suite 2A, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Aaron D Mitchel
- Psychology Department, O'Leary Center, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Brian R King
- Computer Science Department, Breakiron Building, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Brittany G Ruocco
- Genetics Department, Life Sciences Building, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Christa Lese Martin
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, 120 Hamm Drive, Suite 2A, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Judy F Flax
- Genetics Department, Life Sciences Building, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Linda M Brzustowicz
- Genetics Department, Life Sciences Building, Rutgers University, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
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31
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Kašćelan D, Katsos N, Gibson JL. Relations Between Bilingualism and Autistic-Like Traits in a General Population Sample of Primary School Children. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 49:2509-2523. [PMID: 30976960 PMCID: PMC6546658 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-03994-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Some evidence suggests that bilingualism improves communication and cognitive skills which are often impaired in autism. However, diagnosing autism in bilinguals may suffer a cultural bias, which can affect the investigation of bilingualism and autism. Therefore, the current study investigates relations between autistic-like traits (ALTs) and bilingualism in a general population sample of 394 children (M age = 8;3). Within the high-scoring group on the ALT measure, monolinguals had significantly higher ALT scores than bilinguals. There were no differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in the low-scoring group. Across the whole sample, age and structural language skills accounted for 35% variance in ALTs, while bilingualism had no effect on ALTs. Furthermore, structural language skills explained more variance in ALTs among bilinguals than among monolinguals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Draško Kašćelan
- Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge, Raised Faculty Building, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 9DA, UK.
| | - Napoleon Katsos
- Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge, Raised Faculty Building, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 9DA, UK
| | - Jenny L Gibson
- Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, UK
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32
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Solari EJ, Grimm RP, McIntyre NS, Zajic M, Mundy PC. Longitudinal stability of reading profiles in individuals with higher functioning autism. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2019; 23:1911-1926. [DOI: 10.1177/1362361318812423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The reading difficulties of individuals with autism spectrum disorders have been established in the literature, with particular attention drawn toward reading comprehension difficulties. Recent papers have highlighted the heterogeneous nature of reading abilities in this population by utilizing statistical methods that allow for investigations of unique reading profiles. This article extends this literature by investigating reading profiles longitudinally, to investigate the stability of reader profiles across time. Latent profile and transition analyses were conducted to establish categorically distinct reading profiles at two time points, 30 months apart. This study also examined whether age and autism symptom severity were related to the profiles at each time point. Finally, transitions between profiles at each time point were identified. Age did not predict profile membership, but there were significant differences in symptom severity that were largely stable over time. Results indicate that heterogeneous reading profiles exist within the autism population, ranging from average reading ability to severe difficulties across different reading subskills. The data from this study demonstrate that reading profiles of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders shift when examined across time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Nancy S McIntyre
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, USA
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Silleresi S, Tuller L, Delage H, Durrleman S, Bonnet-Brilhault F, Malvy J, Prévost P. Sentence repetition and language impairment in French-speaking children with ASD. ON THE ACQUISITION OF THE SYNTAX OF ROMANCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1075/lald.62.11sil] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Silleresi
- UMR 1253, Imagery and Brain (iBrain), Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours
| | - Laurie Tuller
- UMR 1253, Imagery and Brain (iBrain), Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours
| | | | | | | | - Joëlle Malvy
- UMR 1253, Imagery and Brain (iBrain), Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours
| | - Philippe Prévost
- UMR 1253, Imagery and Brain (iBrain), Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours
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34
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Brignell A, May T, Morgan AT, Williams K. Predictors and growth in receptive vocabulary from 4 to 8 years in children with and without autism spectrum disorder: A population-based study. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2018; 23:1322-1334. [PMID: 30458626 DOI: 10.1177/1362361318801617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Few studies have examined growth and predictors of receptive vocabulary in children with autism spectrum disorder. Here we aimed to compare receptive vocabulary from 4 to 8 years and identify predictors of receptive vocabulary, at 8 years, in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Participants were drawn from a nationally representative population-based study with two cohorts recruited at birth (N = 4983) and kindergarten (N = 5107). Receptive vocabulary growth was compared for children with and without autism spectrum disorder at 4 (n = 188, n = 7136), 6 (n = 215, n = 7297) and 8 (n = 216, n = 7408) years. Predictors of receptive vocabulary were analysed. Estimated mean receptive vocabulary scores for children without autism spectrum disorder were 2.3 units higher than the autism spectrum disorder group across three time points. This difference was significant (p = 0.004; 95% confidence interval 0.769-3.927). Children with and without autism spectrum disorder progressed at a similar pace. There was no significant difference between the proportions of children with and without autism spectrum disorder who had stable, improving and declining trajectories. Age was the only significant predictor of greater receptive vocabulary growth in children with autism spectrum disorder. Baseline receptive language and nonverbal IQ were significant predictors of receptive vocabulary ability at 8 years. These findings inform prognostic advice given to families on language outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Brignell
- 1 Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia.,2 The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Tamara May
- 1 Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia.,3 Deakin University, Australia
| | - Angela T Morgan
- 1 Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia.,2 The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Katrina Williams
- 1 Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia.,2 The University of Melbourne, Australia.,4 Royal Children's Hospital, Australia
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35
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Crutcher J, Martin A, Wallace GL. Dissociations in the neural substrates of language and social functioning in autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2018; 11:1175-1186. [PMID: 30365251 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Impairments in social communication (coupled with intact nonsocial language skills) are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the neural correlates of these social communication deficits in adolescents and young adults with ASD are not fully understood. The communication checklist self-report (CC-SR) was administered to adolescents and young adults with ASD (n = 52) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 64) to assess structural-language, pragmatic-language, and social-engagement. One high-resolution T1-weighted structural image was obtained from each participant. FreeSurfer was used to quantify cortical thickness. A main effect of diagnosis, with the ASD group performing worse than the TD group on all three CC-SR scales, and a diagnosis by scale interaction, driven by low social-engagement self-ratings in the ASD group, were found. There were also group differences in the relationship between scores on two of the three CC-SR scales and cortical thickness in multiple regions (pragmatic-language: left rostral frontal; social-engagement: left medial prefrontal). These interactions were driven by poorer self-ratings of language/social skills associated with decreased cortical thickness in the ASD group, while in the TD group worse self-ratings were associated with thicker cortex. Self-ratings of language/social-communication were lower in the ASD than the TD group. Moreover, language/social-communication self-ratings showed a different relationship with cortical thickness for the ASD and TD groups in the left inferior frontal region for pragmatic language ratings and the left medial prefrontal cortex for social engagement ratings. These findings suggest thinner cortex is associated with more impaired pragmatic language and social communication abilities in ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1175-1186. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The present study examines the associations between brain structure and language/social communication ability in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to neurotypical adolescents and young adults. We utilized thickness of the cerebral cortex as a measure of brain structure, and we found different correlations between language or social communication ability and cortical thickness in distinct regions for the ASD and TD groups. These findings suggest that for regions implicated in language/social communication ability, decreased cortical thickness is associated with more impaired pragmatic language and social communication abilities in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Crutcher
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Alex Martin
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Gregory L Wallace
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland.,Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
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36
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Sukenik N, Friedmann N. ASD Is Not DLI: Individuals With Autism and Individuals With Syntactic DLI Show Similar Performance Level in Syntactic Tasks, but Different Error Patterns. Front Psychol 2018; 9:279. [PMID: 29670550 PMCID: PMC5894483 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2017] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Do individuals with autism have a developmental syntactic impairment, DLI (formerly known as SLI)? In this study we directly compared the performance of 18 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged 9;0–18;0 years with that of 93 individuals with Syntactic-Developmental Language Impairment (SyDLI) aged 8;8–14;6 (and with 166 typically-developing children aged 5;2–18;1). We tested them using three syntactic tests assessing the comprehension and production of syntactic structures that are known to be sensitive to syntactic impairment: elicitation of subject and object relative clauses, reading and paraphrasing of object relatives, and repetition of complex syntactic structures including Wh questions, relative clauses, topicalized sentences, sentences with verb movement, sentences with A-movement, and embedded sentences. The results were consistent across the three tasks: the overall rate of correct performance on the syntactic tasks is similar for the children with ASD and those with SyDLI. However, once we look closer, they are very different. The types of errors of the ASD group differ from those of the SyDLI group—the children with ASD provide various types of pragmatically infelicitous responses that are not evinced in the SyDLI or in the age equivalent typically-developing groups. The two groups (ASD and SyDLI) also differ in the pattern of performance—the children with SyDLI show a syntactically-principled pattern of impairment, with selective difficulty in specific sentence types (such as sentences derived by movement of the object across the subject), and normal performance on other structures (such as simple sentences). In contrast, the ASD participants showed generalized low performance on the various sentence structures. Syntactic performance was far from consistent within the ASD group. Whereas all ASD participants had errors that can originate in pragmatic/discourse difficulties, seven of them had completely normal syntax in the structures we tested, and were able to produce, understand, and repeat relative clauses, Wh questions, and topicalized sentences. Only one ASD participant showed a syntactically-principled deficit similar to that of individuals with SyDLI. We conclude that not all individuals with ASD have syntactic difficulties, and that even when they fail in a syntactic task, this does not necessarily originate in a syntactic impairment. This shows that looking only at the total score in a syntactic test may be insufficient, and a fuller picture emerges once the performance on different structures and the types of erroneous responses are analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nufar Sukenik
- Language and Brain Lab, School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Naama Friedmann
- Language and Brain Lab, School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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37
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Le Normand MT, Blanc R, Caldani S, Bonnet-Brilhault F. Disrupted behaviour in grammatical morphology in French speakers with autism spectrum disorders. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2018; 32:706-720. [PMID: 29345499 DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2018.1425917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Mixed and inconsistent findings have been reported across languages concerning grammatical morphology in speakers with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Some researchers argue for a selective sparing of grammar whereas others claim to have identified grammatical deficits. The present study aimed to investigate this issue in 26 participants with ASD speaking European French who were matched on age, gender and SES to 26 participants with typical development (TD). The groups were compared regarding their productivity and accuracy of syntactic and agreement categories using the French MOR part-of-speech tagger available from the CHILDES. The groups significantly differed in productivity with respect to nouns, adjectives, determiners, prepositions and gender markers. Error analysis revealed that ASD speakers exhibited a disrupted behaviour in grammatical morphology. They made gender, tense and preposition errors and they omitted determiners and pronouns in nominal and verbal contexts. ASD speakers may have a reduced sensitivity to perceiving and processing the distributional structure of syntactic categories when producing grammatical morphemes and agreement categories. The theoretical and cross-linguistic implications of these findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Thérèse Le Normand
- a Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Processus de Santé, Institut de Psychologie , Université Paris Descartes , Boulogne-Billancourt , France
| | - Romuald Blanc
- a Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Processus de Santé, Institut de Psychologie , Université Paris Descartes , Boulogne-Billancourt , France
- c UMR 930, INSERM, Imagerie et Cerveau , Université François Rabelais , Tours , France
| | - Simona Caldani
- b UMR 1141, INSERM , Université Paris Diderot , Paris , France
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38
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May T, Brignell A, Hawi Z, Brereton A, Tonge B, Bellgrove MA, Rinehart NJ. Trends in the Overlap of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Prevalence, Clinical Management, Language and Genetics. CURRENT DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS REPORTS 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s40474-018-0131-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Kjellmer L, Fernell E, Gillberg C, Norrelgen F. Speech and language profiles in 4- to 6-year-old children with early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2018; 14:2415-2427. [PMID: 30275695 PMCID: PMC6157542 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s171971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to present speech and language data from a community-representative group of 4- to 6-year-old children with early-diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID). METHODS The study group comprised 83 children 4-6 years of age with ASD without ID. They had been diagnosed with ASD before age 4.5 years and had received intervention at a specialized habilitation center. At 2-year follow-up, their language abilities were evaluated comprehensively by two speech-language pathologists using a battery of assessments. Receptive and expressive language and phonology were examined. The phonology evaluation included measures of phonological speech production and of phonological processing. RESULTS Results revealed that almost 60% had moderate-severe language problems. Nearly half exhibited combined expressive and receptive language problems, of which a majority also had phonology problems. Phonological speech problems were found in 21% of the total group. CONCLUSION The findings underscore the importance of considering speech/language disorders in children with ASD without ID, since they usually attend mainstream classes but need specific educational adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liselotte Kjellmer
- Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, .,Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden,
| | - Elisabeth Fernell
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden,
| | - Christopher Gillberg
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden,
| | - Fritjof Norrelgen
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden, .,Functional Area Speech and Language Pathology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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40
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Whitehouse AJO. Elizabeth Usher Memorial Lecture: Rethinking the clinical pathway for autism spectrum disorder and challenging the status quo. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2017; 19:208-217. [PMID: 28084105 DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2016.1276963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is typically diagnosed between 2 and 5 years of age, which is currently thought to be the earliest that the behavioural symptoms are able to be identified without ambiguity. A significant problem with this relatively "late" age of diagnosis is that by the time a child has been identified and diagnosed with ASD, many of the best opportunities for therapies to capitalise upon brain plasticity very early in development are not realised. This paper provides an overview of the benefits and drawbacks of the current clinical pathway that places primacy on a diagnostic assessment for triggering the commencement of therapy. The paper then presents an alternative clinical pathway - the identification and provision of therapy to infants at risk of ASD - and provides a critical review of current evidence supporting this model. The aim of the paper is to outline a vision for the future of early identification and intervention of individuals with ASD, and the research goals that need to be addressed to achieve this vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J O Whitehouse
- a Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia , Subiaco , Australia
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Khetrapal N, Thornton R. C-Command in the Grammars of Children with High Functioning Autism. Front Psychol 2017; 8:402. [PMID: 28400740 PMCID: PMC5368177 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent study questioned the adherence of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to a linguistic constraint on the use of reflexive pronouns (Principle A) in sentences like Bart's dad is touching himself. This led researchers to question whether children with ASD are able to compute the hierarchical structural relationship of c-command, and raised the possibility that the children rely on a linear strategy for reference assignment. The current study investigates the status of c-command in children with ASD by testing their interpretation of sentences like (1) and (2) that tease apart use of c-command and a linear strategy for reference assignment.
The girl who stayed up late will not get a dime or a jewel (C-command) The girl who didn't go to sleep will get a dime or a jewel (Non C-command)
These examples both contain negation (not or didn't) and disjunction (or). In (1), negation c-commands the disjunction phrase, yielding a conjunctive entailment. This gives rise to the meaning that the girl who stayed up late won't get a dime and she won't get a jewel. In (2), negation is positioned inside a relative clause and it does not c-command disjunction. Therefore, no conjunctive entailment follows. Thus, (2) is true if the girl just gets a dime or just a jewel, or possibly both. If children with ASD lack c-command, then (1) will not give rise to a conjunctive entailment. In this case, children might rely on a linear strategy for reference assignment. Since negation precedes disjunction in both (1) and (2), they might be interpreted in a similar manner. Likewise, children who show knowledge of c-command should perform well on sentences governed by Principle A. These hypotheses were tested in experiments with 12 Australian children with HFA, aged 5;4 to 12;7, and 12 typically-developing controls, matched on non-verbal IQ. There was no significant difference in the pattern of responses by children with HFA and the control children on either (1) and (2) or the Principle A sentences. The findings provide preliminary support for the proposal that knowledge of c-command and Principle A is intact in HFA children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha Khetrapal
- Department of Linguistics, Language Acquisition Research Group, Macquarie UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rosalind Thornton
- Department of Linguistics, Language Acquisition Research Group, Macquarie UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia
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Modyanova N, Perovic A, Wexler K. Grammar Is Differentially Impaired in Subgroups of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence from an Investigation of Tense Marking and Morphosyntax. Front Psychol 2017; 8:320. [PMID: 28400738 PMCID: PMC5368187 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficits in the production of verbal inflection (tense marking, or finiteness) are part of the Optional Infinitive (OI) stage of typical grammatical development. They are also a hallmark of language impairment: they have been used as biomarkers in guiding genetic studies of Specific Language Impairment (SLI), and have also been observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). To determine the detailed nature of finiteness abilities in subgroups of ASD [autism with impaired language (ALI) vs. autism with normal language (ALN)], we compared tense marking abilities in 46 children with ALI and 37 children with ALN with that of two groups of nonverbal mental age (MA) and verbal MA-matched typically developing (TD) controls, the first such study described in the literature. Our participants' performance on two elicited production tasks, probing third-person-singular -s and past tense -ed, from the Rice/Wexler Test of Early Grammatical Impairment (TEGI, Rice and Wexler, 2001), revealed extensive deficits in the ALI group: their ability to correctly mark tense was significantly worse than their much younger TD controls', and significantly worse than that of the ALN group. In contrast, the ALN group performed similarly to their TD controls. We found good knowledge of the meaning of tense, and of case and agreement, in both ASD groups. Similarly, both ASD groups showed distributions of null or overt subjects with nonfinite and finite verbs in line with those found in young TD children. A key difference, however, was that the ALI group used (rather than simply omitted) the wrong tense in some sentences, a feature not reported in the OI stage for TD or SLI children. Our results confirm a clear distinction in the morphosyntactic abilities of the two subgroups of children with ASD: the language system responsible for finiteness in the ALN group seems to be functioning comparably to that of the TD children, whereas the ALI group, despite showing knowledge of case and agreement, seems to experience an extensive grammatical deficit with respect to finiteness which does not seem to improve with age. Crucially, our ALI group seems to have worse grammatical abilities even than those reported for SLI.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexandra Perovic
- Department of Linguistics, Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London London, UK
| | - Ken Wexler
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA
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Nadig A, Mulligan A. Intact non-word repetition and similar error patterns in language-matched children with autism spectrum disorders: A pilot study. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2017; 66:13-21. [PMID: 28349875 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2017.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE We investigated whether enhanced auditory short-term memory may contribute to the learning of novel word forms in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We also evaluated whether delayed but qualitatively normal, versus atypical, cognitive processes underlie non-word repetition in this population via a detailed error analysis. METHOD English-speaking children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (who had significant language delay) and typically-developing children matched pairwise on language ability were compared on the Syllable Repetition Task (Shriberg et al., 2009). RESULTS All children exhibited better performance on stimuli of shorter vs. longer syllable length. In addition there was a significant interaction whereby children with Autism Spectrum Disorder performed better than typically-developing children at the longest syllable length. Repetition accuracy was significantly correlated with language level in both groups. In contrast, the relationship between Repetition accuracy and age was only marginally significant in the Autism Spectrum Disorder group and did not reach significance in the typically-developing group. This underscores the importance of language level to non-word repetition performance, and supports the practice of matching on language rather than age alone. An error analysis (Shriberg et al., 2012) showed many similarities between groups in terms of number of consonants deleted, encoding accuracy, and transcoding accuracy components of the task. However the Autism Spectrum Disorder group tended to display better auditory short-term memory with a medium effect size, though this did not reach significance given the small sample size. CONCLUSION These findings extend evidence of delayed but qualitatively normal non-word repetition previously described in preadolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Williams et al., 2013) to younger kindergarten-age children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and language delay, indicating that non-word repetition is not an area of specific difficulty for this population. With respect to enhanced auditory short-term memory, we found preliminary evidence of better memory for longer nonwords in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder compared to younger typically developing children who were matched on language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aparna Nadig
- McGill University School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, 2001 Avenue McGill College Suite 800, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1G1, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language & Music, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Anjali Mulligan
- McGill University School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, 2001 Avenue McGill College Suite 800, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1G1, Canada
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Tanaka S, Oi M, Fujino H, Kikuchi M, Yoshimura Y, Miura Y, Tsujii M, Ohoka H. Characteristics of communication among Japanese children with autism spectrum disorder: A cluster analysis using the Children's Communication Checklist-2. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2016; 31:234-249. [PMID: 27739870 DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2016.1238509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Some overlap has been suggested among the subtypes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. The Japanese version of the Children's Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2) is a useful measure for identifying profiles in relation to communication impairments in children with ASD. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the CCC-2 could identify subtypes in relation to communication impairments in Japanese children with ASD. The study participants were 113 children with ASD but without intellectual disabilities aged 3-12 years. Parents were given the Japanese version of the CCC-2 and asked to rate their children, who were then classified into two groups based on statistical analysis. Significant differences were found between clusters in mean CCC-2 subscales. These results suggest that one subtype was associated with low language competence and strong characteristics of autism, while the other was associated with relatively high language competence and milder characteristics of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanae Tanaka
- a Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Ishikawa , Japan
| | - Manabu Oi
- b United Graduate School of Child Development, Kanazawa University , Ishikawa , Japan
| | - Hiroshi Fujino
- c Comprehensive Educational Science, Tokyo Gakugei University , Tokyo , Japan
| | - Mitsuru Kikuchi
- a Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Ishikawa , Japan
| | - Yuko Yoshimura
- a Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University , Ishikawa , Japan
| | - Yui Miura
- d English Education Center, Institute for Education and Student Support, Ehime University , Ehime , Japan
| | | | - Harue Ohoka
- f Chuo College of Social Services, Nihon Fukushi University , Aichi , Japan
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Flagge AG, Estis JM, Moore RE. Short-Term Memory Performance in 7- and 8-Year-Old Children: The Relationship Between Phonological and Pitch Processing. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2016; 59:1208-1217. [PMID: 27682025 DOI: 10.1044/2016_jslhr-h-14-0317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The relationship between short-term memory for phonology and pitch was explored by examining accuracy scores for typically developing children for 5 experimental tasks: immediate nonword repetition (NWR), nonword repetition with an 8-s silent interference (NWRS), pitch discrimination (PD), pitch discrimination with an 8-s silent interference (PDS), and pitch matching (PM). METHOD Thirty-six 7- and 8-year-old children (21 girls, 15 boys) with normal hearing, language, and cognition were asked to listen to and repeat nonsense words (NWR, NWRS), make a same versus different decision between 2 tones (PD, PDS), and listen to and then vocally reproduce a tone (PM). RESULTS Results showed no significant correlations between tasks of phonological memory and tests of pitch memory, that participants scored significantly better on nonword repetition tasks than PD and PM tasks, and that participants performed significantly better on tasks with no silent interference. DISCUSSION These findings suggest that, for typically developing children, pitch may be stored and rehearsed in a separate location than phonological information. Because of fundamental task differences, further research is needed to corroborate these data and determine the presence of developmental effects and neuroanatomical locations where a potential language/music overlap is occurring in children.
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Zare M, Rezvani Z, Benasich AA. Automatic classification of 6-month-old infants at familial risk for language-based learning disorder using a support vector machine. Clin Neurophysiol 2016; 127:2695-703. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2015] [Revised: 03/22/2016] [Accepted: 03/25/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Dimitriadis SI. Identification of infants at high familiar risk for language-learning disorders (LLD) by combining machine learning techniques with EEG-based brain network metrics. Clin Neurophysiol 2016; 127:2692-4. [PMID: 27212116 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.04.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2016] [Revised: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stavros I Dimitriadis
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, CF24 4HQ Cardiff, UK; Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, CF24 4HQ Cardiff, UK; Artificial Intelligence and Information Analysis Laboratory, Department of Informatics, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; NeuroInformatics Group, AUTH, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Yau SH, Brock J, McArthur G. The relationship between spoken language and speech and nonspeech processing in children with autism: a magnetic event-related field study. Dev Sci 2016; 19:834-52. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shu Hui Yau
- ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders; Department of Cognitive Science; Macquarie University; Australia
| | - Jon Brock
- ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders; Department of Cognitive Science; Macquarie University; Australia
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders; Department of Cognitive Science; Macquarie University; Australia
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Lu C, Qi Z, Harris A, Weil LW, Han M, Halverson K, Perrachione TK, Kjelgaard M, Wexler K, Tager-Flusberg H, Gabrieli JDE. Shared neuroanatomical substrates of impaired phonological working memory across reading disability and autism. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2016; 1:169-177. [PMID: 26949750 PMCID: PMC4776338 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2015.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with reading disability or individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized, respectively, by their difficulties in reading or social communication, but both groups often have impaired phonological working memory (PWM). It is not known whether the impaired PWM reflects distinct or shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in these two diagnostic groups. METHODS White-matter structural connectivity via diffusion weighted imaging was examined in sixty-four children, ages 5-17 years, with reading disability, ASD, or typical development (TD), who were matched in age, gender, intelligence, and diffusion data quality. RESULTS Children with reading disability and children with ASD exhibited reduced PWM compared to children with TD. The two diagnostic groups showed altered white-matter microstructure in the temporo-parietal portion of the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) and in the temporo-occipital portion of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), as indexed by reduced fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity. Moreover, the structural integrity of the right ILF was positively correlated with PWM ability in the two diagnostic groups, but not in the TD group. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that impaired PWM is transdiagnostically associated with shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in ASD and reading disability. Microstructural characteristics in left AF and right ILF may play important roles in the development of PWM. The right ILF may support a compensatory mechanism for children with impaired PWM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Zhenghan Qi
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Adrianne Harris
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Lisa Wisman Weil
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Michelle Han
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Kelly Halverson
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Tyler K. Perrachione
- Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Margaret Kjelgaard
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Kenneth Wexler
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - John D. E. Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Taylor LJ, Maybery MT, Whitehouse AJO. Do Children with Specific Language Impairment have a Cognitive Profile Reminiscent of Autism? A Review of the Literature. J Autism Dev Disord 2016; 42:2067-83. [PMID: 22298108 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-012-1456-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
There is debate regarding the relationship between autism and specific language impairment (SLI), with some researchers proposing aetiological overlap between the conditions and others maintaining their aetiological distinction. Although considerable research has investigated the language phenotypes of these disorders, the relationship between the cognitive phenotypes has been left relatively unexplored. This paper reviews relevant literature on whether individuals with SLI exhibit cognitive characteristics reminiscent of autism. Overall, findings are inconsistent and there is a lack of substantive evidence supporting overlapping cognitive phenotypes in autism and SLI. Better powered and more rigorous experimental designs, as well as studies directly comparing the cognitive phenotype of children with SLI and those with autism will further elucidate the aetiological relationship between these two conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J Taylor
- Neurocognitive Development Unit, School of Psychology, M304, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia; Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
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