Language Disorders: Autism and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders

doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2007.02.011

Pediatric Clinics of North America

Volume 54, Issue 3, June 2007, Pages 469-481

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2007.02.011 Get rights and content

This article summarizes current knowledge about language and communication impairments in children who have autism spectrum disorders. It reviews the language profiles that may be observed during the toddler and preschool years and in school-aged children and discusses receptive and expressive language skills that may be quite variable across the spectrum and the universal impairments in pragmatic aspects of language that are among the defining characteristics of the disorder. It concludes with clinical recommendations for pediatric screening of autism spectrum disorders and for continued monitoring of language difficulties in older children for whom interventions may be critical for enhancing effective communication in everyday life.

Section snippets

Social communication and language deficits in children who have autistic spectrum disorder

Because of the increasingly broad nature of symptoms that now are included under the autism spectrum, language deficits in ASD vary dramatically across the different diagnoses and also within a single diagnostic category. Most, but not all, children who have ASD have receptive and expressive language impairments. As is the case with many developmental disorders (eg, specific language impairment), the prevalence of ASD is higher in boys than in girls. For autism, the ratio is about 3 or 4:1, but

Language in toddlers and preschoolers

Typically developing infants are competent communicators well before they speak their first words. The development of joint attention and the sharing of experiences during the first year of life are critical prerequisites for more complex forms of social communication [13]. By the age of 9 to 12 months, infants develop gaze-monitoring and social-referencing skills, or the ability to observe others' focus of attention or affect by shifting gaze between people and objects [14]. This ability is

Language in school-aged children and beyond

By the time typical children enter school, they are able to speak fluently, have acquired a rich vocabulary, and use full sentences. In the early school years, children master the more complex grammatical structures of their native language; however, vocabulary continues to grow throughout the lifespan. Pragmatic and discourse skills continue to develop as children become more effective communicators, becoming more sensitive to their listener's perspective and telling more complex and

Clinical implications and recommendations

Although many parents have attributed their children's onset of symptoms to immunizations at the age of 15 months (cf. [48]), retrospective analyses of first birthday party home videotapes have shown signs of impairment of social relatedness and communication before that time [49], [50], [51]. Usually there is no period of unequivocally normal development, although abnormalities may not be noted unless regression occurs or language skills lag far behind peers, usually between 18 and 24 months

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Female-specific dysfunction of sensory neocortical circuits in a mouse model of autism mediated by mGluR5 and estrogen receptor α
2024, Cell Reports
Little is known of the brain mechanisms that mediate sex-specific autism symptoms. Here, we demonstrate that deletion of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-risk gene, Pten, in neocortical pyramidal neurons (^NSEPten knockout [KO]) results in robust cortical circuit hyperexcitability selectively in female mice observed as prolonged spontaneous persistent activity states. Circuit hyperexcitability in females is mediated by metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) and estrogen receptor α (ERα) signaling to mitogen-activated protein kinases (Erk1/2) and de novo protein synthesis. Pten KO layer 5 neurons have a female-specific increase in mGluR5 and mGluR5-dependent protein synthesis. Furthermore, mGluR5-ERα complexes are generally elevated in female cortices, and genetic reduction of ERα rescues enhanced circuit excitability, protein synthesis, and neuron size selectively in ^NSEPten KO females. Female ^NSEPten KO mice display deficits in sensory processing and social behaviors as well as mGluR5-dependent seizures. These results reveal mechanisms by which sex and a high-confidence ASD-risk gene interact to affect brain function and behavior.
Different hemispheric lateralization for periodicity and formant structure of vowels in the auditory cortex and its changes between childhood and adulthood
2024, Cortex
The spectral formant structure and periodicity pitch are the major features that determine the identity of vowels and the characteristics of the speaker. However, very little is known about how the processing of these features in the auditory cortex changes during development. To address this question, we independently manipulated the periodicity and formant structure of vowels while measuring auditory cortex responses using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in children aged 7–12 years and adults. We analyzed the sustained negative shift of source current associated with these vowel properties, which was present in the auditory cortex in both age groups despite differences in the transient components of the auditory response. In adults, the sustained activation associated with formant structure was lateralized to the left hemisphere early in the auditory processing stream requiring neither attention nor semantic mapping. This lateralization was not yet established in children, in whom the right hemisphere contribution to formant processing was strong and decreased during or after puberty. In contrast to the formant structure, periodicity was associated with a greater response in the right hemisphere in both children and adults. These findings suggest that left-lateralization for the automatic processing of vowel formant structure emerges relatively late in ontogenesis and pose a serious challenge to current theories of hemispheric specialization for speech processing.
Indoor environment perception of people with autism spectrum condition: A scoping review
2023, Building and Environment
Current standards and guidelines on indoor environmental criteria contain very little information regarding people with special needs. This study provides a scoping review of the literature aimed at indoor environment design and sensorial perception of people with autism spectrum condition (ASC). Autistic people constitute a relevant and growing share of the world population, and their indoor environment exposure may lead to different sensorial perception as well as different adaptation opportunities. Moreover, their well-being, health and autonomy might benefit from proper design of the indoor conditions. The present review used a two-step methodology to build a broad scientific background for future research. This was done specifically by: 1. Identifying, analyzing and categorizing studies related to indoor environmental quality (IEQ) design for people with ASC, summarizing findings and highlighting knowledge gaps; 2. Investigating the scientific background on sensorial response of autistic people to stimuli related with the four comfort domains (thermo-reception, sight, olfaction, hearing), highlighting the possible direction of future research on indoor environmental well-being. The main findings were that current recommendations on indoor well-being of autistic people mainly target children, and are not based on systematic comfort studies. The scientific evidence on sensory processing demonstrates remarkable differences with neurotypical populations in the perception of environmental stimuli, which would most likely lead to different and peculiar findings and requirements in terms of indoor well-being. Based on the outcomes of this review, future studies on indoor environment for people with ASC can be designed.
Effects of a creative yoga intervention on the joint attention and social communication skills, as well as affective states of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
2021, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Citation Excerpt :
Below, we provide a brief overview of ASD-specific impairments in social communication and affective/behavioral skills, followed by the current evidence on the effects of yoga in individuals with ASD. Socially directed verbal communication impairments are a primary impairment in children with ASD (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) with children’s communication skills ranging from being completely non-verbal to highly verbal with use of full sentences (Eigsti, de Marchena, Schuh, & Kelley, 2011; Tager-Flusberg & Caronna, 2007). Moreover, many children with ASD have difficulties with socially directed verbalizations, with more difficulties in “spontaneous” initiation of verbal communication than “responsive” verbalizations that involve responding to questions and comments of others (Condouris et al., 2003; Vismara & Rogers, 2010).
Yoga is gaining popularity as a multisystem intervention due to its impact on both the physical and mental well-being of children with typical development. However, there is limited empirical evidence to support the use of this approach in school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The current pilot study evaluated the impact of a creative yoga intervention on the joint attention and social communication skills, as well as affective states of children with ASD.
24 school-aged children with ASD received eight weeks of yoga (e.g., breathing, poses, relaxation) or tabletop play/academic intervention (e.g., reading, arts-crafts, building activities). Children were tested before and after the intervention using a standardized measure of responsive joint attention. Additionally, changes in socially directed verbal communication and affective states of children were assessed three times during the intervention period, i.e. during early, mid, and late intervention sessions.
Children with ASD showed improvements in responsive joint attention in both groups in the posttest vs. the pretest. Furthermore, children in the yoga group showed improvements in socially directed verbal communication skills across the intervention sessions, i.e. greater spontaneous and responsive communication from early/mid to late intervention sessions compared to the academic group. There were no changes in affective states with the intervention, however, the yoga group showed greater interested and less negative affect compared to the academic group.
Creative yoga intervention is a promising tool as it led to improvements in intervention-related social communication skills and generalized joint attention skills of children with ASD.
Telehealth in Pediatric Rehabilitation
2021, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America
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SLP practitioners also provide care to facilitate swallowing and feeding for children who have challenges with oral nutrition. Disorders of language, communication, and feeding may be present in some children who are otherwise typically developing and are common in children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, autism, and other genetic disorders.15–18 SLP therapists also treat children with disorders of attention and memory that commonly can lead to deteriorating academic performance after concussions or more significant brain injuries.19
Endophenotype trait domains for advancing gene discovery in autism spectrum disorder
2023, Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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Language Disorders: Autism and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Section snippets

Social communication and language deficits in children who have autistic spectrum disorder

Language in toddlers and preschoolers

Language in school-aged children and beyond

Clinical implications and recommendations

Lang Commun

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

International Journal of Developmental Neurosciences

Issues in the classification of autism and related conditions

Asperger syndrome

Neuropsychological function and the external validity of Asperger syndrome

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

Language and communicative deficits and their effects on learning and behavior

Pedantic speaking style differentiates Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism

J Autism Dev Disord

Social language use in Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism

Asperger's syndrome: a clinical account

J Autism Dev Disord

Language and communication in autism

Assessing communication in autism spectrum disorders

Early screening for autism spectrum disorders in clinical practice settings

The retention effects of an adult's emotional displays on infant behavior

Child Dev

Language in context

Joint attention on actions: acquiring verbs in ostensive and non-ostensive contests

J Child Lang

Infants' contribution to the achievement of joint reference

Child Dev

A first language

Early language and communication development of infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

J Dev Behav Pediatr

Ontogeny of communication functions in autism

J Autism Dev Disord

Language delay and social development

Autism and the comprehension of language

Why connect? On the relation between autism and blindness

Echolalia in autism: assessment and intervention

Semin Speech Lang

Early regression in social communication in autistic spectrum disorders

Dev Neuropsychol

Early diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorders

Do children with autism use the speaker's direction of gaze strategy to crack to code of language?

Child Dev