COMD News

from Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention

No abstract available.

from Medical News Today.com

The Bercow review has confirmed what many parents of children with autism have been telling us: provision for children with speech, language and communication needs is inadequate and must improve.

from Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention

No abstract available.

from Development and Psychopathology

Advances in the fields of cognitive and affective developmental neuroscience, developmental psychopathology, neurobiology, genetics, and applied behavior analysis have contributed to a more optimistic outcome for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These advances have led to new methods for early detection and more effective treatments. For the first time, prevention of ASD is plausible. Prevention will entail detecting infants at risk before the full syndrome is present and implementing treatments designed to alter the course of early behavioral and brain development. This article describes a developmental model of risk, risk processes, symptom emergence, and adaptation in ASD that offers a framework for understanding early brain plasticity in ASD and its role in prevention of the disorder.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of combining milieu therapy and functional communication training (FCT)] to replace aberrant behavior with functional communicative skills in 3 male preschool or elementary aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Study activities were conducted in the natural environments of the participants and parents acted as change agents. A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the modified milieu therapy intervention. Results indicate that aberrant behavior decreased concurrent with an increase in total percentage of communication responses (PCR). The children maintained communication and low rates of aberrant behavior, and generalized their communication from the home to the classroom. A discussion of limitations and future research directions is included.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract Twenty-nine youth with autism spectrum disorders and 26 with typical development between 12 and 18 years of age were engaged in structured interviews (ADOS). The interviews were videotaped and rated for atypical conversational behaviors by trained raters, using the Pragmatic Rating Scale (Landa et al. Psychol Med 22:245–254, 1992). The ASD group was divided into AS and HFA/PDD-NOS subgroups. Significant differences were found among groups on approximately one-third of the PRS items. These items involved primarily the management of topics and information, reciprocity, intonation, and gaze management. The only differences to reach significance between the AS and HFA/PDD-NOS group were a greater tendency for overly formal speech on the part of the AS group, and more difficulty with gaze management on the part of the group with HFA/PDD-NOS. The implications of these findings for understanding and treating conversational deficits in ASD are discussed.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract It has been proposed that females at risk for autism are protected in some way, so that only those with the greatest genetic liability are affected. Consequently, affected male siblings of females with autism should be more impaired than affected male siblings of male probands. One hundred and ninety-four (194) families with a single child with autism (simplex, SPX) and 154 families with more than one child with autism (multiplex, MPX) were examined on measures of severity, including non-verbal IQ. Among SPX families, girls had lower IQ than boys, but no such differences were seen among MPX families. Similarly, the affected brothers of girls with autism were no different from affected brothers of male probands. These data suggest that MPX and SPX families differ with respect to the relationship between gender and IQ.

from Topix.net

Abstract Language difficulties have been implicated to be a part of the broad autism phenotype in first-degree relatives of individuals with autism.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

abstract systematic longitudinal observations were made as typically developing toddlers and young children with autism and with down syndrome interacted with their caregivers in order to document how joint engagement developed over a year,long period and how variations in joint engagement experiences predicted language outcome. children with autism displayed a persistent deficit in coordinated joint attention; children with down syndrome were significantly less able to infuse symbols into joint engagement. for all groups, variations in amount of symbol,infused supported joint engagement, a state in which the child attended to a shared object and to language but not actively to the partner, contributed to differences in expressive and receptive language outcome, over and above initial language capacity.

from Clinical Neurophysiology

Abstract
Objective
Deficient prosody is a hallmark of the pragmatic (socially contextualized) language impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Prosody communicates emotion and intention and is conveyed through acoustic cues such as pitch contour. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the subcortical representations of prosodic speech in children with ASD.

Methods
Using passively evoked brainstem responses to speech syllables with descending and ascending pitch contours, we examined sensory encoding of pitch in children with ASD who had normal intelligence and hearing and were age-matched with typically developing (TD) control children.

Results
We found that some children on the autism spectrum show deficient pitch tracking (evidenced by increased Frequency and Slope Errors and reduced phase locking) compared with TD children.

Conclusions
This is the first demonstration of subcortical involvement in prosody encoding deficits in this population of children.

Significance
Our findings may have implications for diagnostic and remediation strategies in a subset of children with ASD and open up an avenue for future investigations.

from the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of computer-presented Social Stories and video models on the social communication skills of three children with High-Functioning Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome (HFA/AS). Using a multiple-baseline across-participants design, computer-presented Social Stories and video models were implemented and direct observations of the participants’ identified target behaviors were collected two times per week during unstructured school activities (e.g., recess). Overall, data demonstrated that the combined treatment package was effective for improving the rates of social communication for the participants, although modifications to allow access to social reinforcement were needed in two cases. In addition, all three participants demonstrated maintenance of skills at a 2-week follow-up. However, generalization of skills was only observed for one participant. This research adds evidence that a combined intervention presented via computer may be a beneficial method for remediating social skill difficulties for individuals with HFA/AS.

from News-Medical.net

Noting that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are often the first group of professionals to recognize that a child has autism and are central to providing treatment, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) sent letters this month to Presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama that advise taking an evidence-based approach to the vaccine controversy surrounding what causes autism and to policy development related to care.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract Developmental disorders might differ in their language profiles when using parent reports. The first study indicated that school aged children with ASD have similar language profiles as children with ADHD. Both groups had relatively more difficulties with pragmatics than with structural language aspects. The second study indicated that both preschoolers with ASD and those with SLI show the opposite pattern, thus having relatively more difficulties with structural language aspects than with pragmatics. Finally, an increase in the presence of ADHD characteristics of impulsivity in these preschoolers is associated with an increase in language difficulties, while there is no such relation with inattention. It seems useful to evaluate the communication abilities of children regularly in the course of development and take ADHD characteristics into account. Finally recommendations on clinical use of the Children’s Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2, Bishop 2003) are discussed.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract Narrative analysis of personal events provides an opportunity for identifying autism specific issues related to language and social impairments. Eight personal events were elicited from three groups of schoolage children: 14 high-functioning with Autism Spectrum Disorders (HFA), 12 non-autistic with developmental language disorders (DLD), and 12 typically developing matched for chronological age and non-verbal IQ. The coding focused on narrative format (constituents) and style (coherence). The analyses indicate basic knowledge of conventional narrative format in all groups but a consistent lack of high-point in HFA children’s stories interpreted as a consequence of their lack of social understanding of narrative. The results suggest novel interventions to foster autobiographical memory in HFA children which may assist in their self-awareness development.

from Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools

Purpose: The purposes of this article are to define the nature of feeding difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), identify important components of the assessment and treatment of feeding disorders specific to this population, and delineate specific therapeutic techniques designed to improve assessment and treatment within the school setting. Method: Literature review and case example are used to define the predominant nature of the feeding difficulties that are experienced by some children on the autism spectrum. Characteristics of this complex disorder that can have an impact on feeding skill and behavior are also identified. These factors are then integrated to create assessment and intervention techniques that can be used in conjunction with traditional feeding approaches to facilitate improvements in eating in this unique population. Implications: The complex nature of ASD and its many influences on feeding skills and behavior create the need for modification to both assessment and treatment approaches. Additional research is needed to create therapeutic protocols that can be used by school-based speech-language pathologists to effectively assess and treat feeding difficulties that are commonly encountered in children with ASD.

from Brain and Language

Individuals with autism exhibit significant impairments in prosody production, yet there is a paucity of research on prosody comprehension in this population. The current study adapted a psycholinguistic paradigm to examine whether individuals with autism are able to use prosody to resolve syntactically ambiguous sentences. Participants were 21 adolescents with high-functioning autism (HFA), and 22 typically developing controls matched on age, IQ, receptive language, and gender. The HFA group was significantly less likely to use prosody to disambiguate syntax, but scored comparably to controls when syntax alone or both prosody and syntax indicated the correct response. These findings indicate that adolescents with HFA have difficulty using prosody to disambiguate syntax in comparison to typically developing controls, even when matched on chronological age, IQ, and receptive language. The implications of these findings for how individuals with autism process language are discussed.

from Topix.net

Campaigners have urged Pope Benedict XVI to provide guidelines to the Roman Catholic Church on how to deal with children and adults with autism and Asperger’s syndrome in the light of the banning of a 13 year old boy with autism, Adam Race from the Church of St.Joseph in Bertha, Minnesota.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract We report rates of regression and associated findings in a population derived group of 255 children aged 9–14 years, participating in a prevalence study of autism spectrum disorders (ASD); 53 with narrowly defined autism, 105 with broader ASD and 97 with non-ASD neurodevelopmental problems, drawn from those with special educational needs within a population of 56,946 children. Language regression was reported in 30% with narrowly defined autism, 8% with broader ASD and less than 3% with developmental problems without ASD. A smaller group of children were identified who underwent a less clear setback. Regression was associated with higher rates of autistic symptoms and a deviation in developmental trajectory. Regression was not associated with epilepsy or gastrointestinal problems.

from Topix.net

Researchers have made some surprising discoveries about the communicative language abilities of people with autism. via Daily India

from Autism

This research investigates whether children with autism learn picture, word and object relations as associative pairs or whether they understand such relations as referential. In Experiment 1, children were taught a new word (e.g. `whisk’) repeatedly paired with a novel picture. When given the picture and a previously unseen real whisk and asked to indicate a whisk, children with autism, unlike typically developing peers matched on receptive language, associated the word with the picture rather than the object. Subsequent experiments respectively confirmed that neither a bias for selecting pictures nor perseverative responding accounted for these results. Taken together, these results suggest that children with autism with cognitive difficulties are learning picture—word and picture—object relations via an associative mechanism and have difficulty understanding the symbolic nature of pictures.

from EurekAlert.org

In short, Stainton and his colleagues produced surprising evidence to show that speakers with ASD use and understand pragmatics in cases of literal talk.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract Deficits in the perception of social stimuli may contribute to the characteristic impairments in social interaction in high functioning autism (HFA). Although the cortical processing of voice is abnormal in HFA, it is unclear whether this gives rise to impairments in the perception of voice gender. About 20 children with HFA and 20 matched controls were presented with voice fragments that were parametrically morphed in gender. No differences were found in the perception of gender between the two groups of participants, but response times differed significantly. The results suggest that the perception of voice gender is not impaired in HFA, which is consistent with behavioral findings of an unimpaired voice-based identification of age and identity by individuals with autism. The differences in response times suggest that individuals with HFA use different perceptual approaches from those used by typically developing individuals.

from Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics

Recent interest in gesture has led to an understanding of the development of gesture and speech in typically developing young children. Research suggests that initially gesture and speech form two independent systems which combine together temporally and semantically before children enter the two-word period of language development. However, little is known about gesture development in children’s disordered speech. This paper presents two case studies of young children with autism. The children are under 3 years of age and attend an intervention programme to facilitate their social and communication development. Early indications suggest that whilst both gesture and speech development is delayed in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), the developmental trajectory is the same as for typically developing children.

from Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology

Rates of diagnosis of autism have risen since 1980, raising the question of whether some children who previously had other diagnoses are now being diagnosed with autism. We applied contemporary diagnostic criteria for autism to adults with a history of developmental language disorder, to discover whether diagnostic substitution has taken place. A total of 38 adults (aged 15-31y; 31 males, seven females) who had participated in studies of developmental language disorder during childhood were given the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule - Generic. Their parents completed the Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised, which relies largely on symptoms present at age 4 to 5 years to diagnose autism. Eight individuals met criteria for autism on both instruments, and a further four met criteria for milder forms of autistic spectrum disorder. Most individuals with autism had been identified with pragmatic impairments in childhood. Some children who would nowadays be diagnosed unambiguously with autistic disorder had been diagnosed with developmental language disorder in the past. This finding has implications for our understanding of the epidemiology of autism.

from MedGadget.com

Canada’s CTV News is reporting on how autistic children at the Bloorview Kids Rehab, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto, are using special software on Pocket PC-like devices to more comfortably communicate with people around them.

from the European Journal of Neuroscience

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with deficits in language and social communication. Behavioural studies indicate abnormal semantic organization in individuals with autism, but little is known about the neural mechanism underlying the processing of language in context. Magnetoencephalography was used to record neural responses in 11 able adults with autism spectrum disorders reading meaningful sentences and sentences ending with a semantically incongruous word (e.g. ‘He sent a photo to the trumpet’). Spatially extended evoked signals at 400 ms (N4) and 750 ms (LPC), as well as synchronized gamma-oscillations, provided clear evidence for specific neuronal processes sensitive to sentence context that differed in individuals with autism compared with typically developing individuals (11 healthy volunteers). Amongst other differences, N4 responses following incongruous words were weaker over left temporal cortices, whereas LPC responses to incongruous words and long-latency gamma-oscillations following congruous words were stronger over central and prefrontal regions in individuals with autism compared with the control group. Also, incongruous words elicited long-lasting gamma-oscillations above 40 Hz in the clinical group, but not in typically developing subjects. These findings may indicate unusual strategies for resolving semantic ambiguity in autism. Moreover, the observed gamma-band responses provide evidence for sustained cortical synchronization across segregated areas in individuals with autism, contrary to claims that a general deficit in either temporal binding or long-range connectivity may explain autism.

from allAfrica.com

MIRACLE cure or expensive sham, the jury is out on the Dore Program — which promises “astounding” and “long-term” results for learning difficulties from dyslexia and dyspraxia to autism — that has reached SA.

from EurekAlert.org

Two researchers at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research will head an ambitious new project to study the origins of autism and dyslexia, supported by a $8.5M grant from the Ellison Medical Foundation. The project leaders, Nancy Kanwisher and John Gabrieli, are prominent experts in neuroimaging and human brain development.

from the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions

Clearly, imitation is linked to a variety of skill areas. As a result, children with autism and developmental delays are less likely than their typical peers to perform well in many areas of development, including play and speech. The purpose of this study was to determine if a simple, teacher-friendly strategy could be implemented that would affect peer imitation skills in children with autism spectrum and developmental disorders. A single-subject multiple baseline design was applied across four participants to determine the impact of a multicomponent visually cued imitation strategy. Results indicated that participants’ imitation skills increased and reliance on physical prompts decreased. The results are discussed in terms of the amount of imitation that occurred, the level of prompts used, and the activities engaged in.

from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Abstract  One of the primary diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the presence of a language delay or impairment. Children with ASD are now being identified at significantly younger ages, and prior research has consistently found that early language skills in this population are heterogeneous and an important predictor for later outcome. The goal of this study was to systematically investigate language in toddlers with ASD and to identify early correlates of receptive and expressive language in this population. The study included 164 toddlers with ASD between the ages of 18 and 33 months who were evaluated on several cognitive, language and behavioral measures. Results suggested good agreement among different measures of early language, including direct assessment and parent report measures. Significant concurrent predictors of receptive language included gestures, non-verbal cognitive ability and response to joint attention. For expressive language, the most significant predictors were non-verbal cognitive ability, gestures and imitation. These findings have important implications for intervention programs targeting this population.