Verbal and Behavioral Communication Strategies in Chinese Parent-Child Interactions: Distinctions Between Autism...

This study examined the characteristics and differences in the verbal and behavioral strategies employed by Chinese-speaking parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and parents of typically developing (TD) children.

Ten-minute video recordings of parent-child interactions were analyzed, involving 34 children with ASD (Mage = 4.77 years, SD = 1.46; 29 boys) and 31 TD children (Mage = 4.84 years, SD = 1.43; 15 boys) alongside their parents. Verbal and behavioral samples were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using EUDICO Linguistic Annotator (ELAN) and Computerized Language Analysis (CLAN) software to evaluate grammatical, syntactic, pragmatic, semantic, and non-verbal functions. The Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to compare the interactive strategies between the two parental groups.

Parents in the ASD group demonstrated a significantly shorter mean length of utterance (MLU), greater reliance on gestures and labeling, and a higher frequency of behavioral directives compared to parents in the TD group (all ps < 0.01). In contrast, parents of TD children exhibited a significantly higher frequency of expansions, general responses, and questions, facilitating richer language input and reciprocal conversational engagement.

These findings suggest that parent-mediated interventions for Chinese-speaking children with ASD should prioritize balancing developmentally appropriate simplified input with responsive interaction strategies rather than merely increasing linguistic complexity to better support child-initiated communication and joint engagement.

What is already known on this subject Previous research has established that parent-child interaction plays a central role in early language intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Parents tend to adapt their communication to children's reduced responsiveness by using shorter utterances and more directive strategies. Responsive parental behaviors, such as expansions and contingent responses, are consistently associated with better language outcomes. However, most evidence comes from Western language contexts, and parental communication strategies in Chinese-speaking families remain under explored. What this study adds to existing knowledge This study extends existing evidence by characterising the structure of parental communication strategies in Chinese-speaking parent-child interactions involving children with ASD. It demonstrates that, despite comparable amounts of overall linguistic input, parents of children with ASD show a systematic imbalance between adaptive scaffolding (shorter utterances, gestures and labeling) and responsive strategies (expansions, questions and imitations). The findings further identify a culturally specific pattern of increased gesture use in Chinese-speaking ASD families, highlighting language- and culture-dependent adaptations not captured in Western-focused research. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The findings have direct implications for speech and language therapy practice with Chinese-speaking families. Intervention should focus on calibrating parental interaction patterns rather than increasing the quantity of language input. Speech-language therapists should support caregivers in maintaining developmentally appropriate scaffolding, such as simplified utterances, gestures, and labeling, while reducing excessive behavioral directives and strengthening responsive strategies, including expansions, imitations, and child-led questioning. These results inform culturally responsive caregiver coaching and support the integration of parent-mediated approaches into routine clinical service delivery.