Concurrent developmental language level change for children with autism spectrum disorder using alternative and...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often presents with Nonverbal/Minimally-Verbal (NV/MV) communication challenges.
• Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) systems are increasingly utilized to support communication in autistic children.
• Understanding the impact of AAC on language development in NV/MV autistic individuals is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the concurrent changes in Developmental Language Phase (DLP) and linguistic status of NV/MV autistic children using AAC.
• To compare the linguistic output of NV/MV autistic children with and without AAC system use.
• To analyze linguistic level, characteristics, and early developmental milestones between AAC users and non-users.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 23 autistic children (3-12 years) identified as NV/MV.
• Utilized the Developmental/Verbal Language Phase (DLP) parent-report questionnaire to assess linguistic status concurrently, with and without AAC.
• Participants were divided into two groups: AAC users (52% of sample) and AAC non-users.

Main Results:

• 75% of AAC users showed improved linguistic level (DLP) when AAC use was included, with half reaching verbal-linguistic status.
• AAC users in the First-Words phase (DLP-2) were more likely to advance to Word-Combinations (DLP-3) than those in the Preverbal phase (DLP-1).
• Most AAC users demonstrated advantages in language skills compared to non-users.

Conclusions:

• AAC system use is associated with enhanced communication level and status in NV/MV autistic children.
• AAC can facilitate language development, particularly for autistic children already verbalizing at the word level.
• AAC systems offer a significant advantage for improving language skills in many autistic children.