Caregiver Language Input Supports Sentence Diversity in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Caregiver Language Input Supports Sentence Diversity in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose: Sentence diversity is a measure of early language development that has yet to be applied to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The primary aim of this study was to identify whether children with ASD show change in sentence diversity over 6 months of treatment with Naturalistic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of speech, language, and hearing research Vol. 65; no. 4; pp. 1465 - 1477
Main Authors: Clark-Whitney, Elysha, Brito Klein, Claire, Hadley, Pamela A, Lord, Catherine, Kim, So Hyun
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 01-04-2022
Subjects:
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder - complications
Autism Spectrum Disorder - therapy
Caregiver Child Relationship
Caregivers
Child
Child Language
Child, Preschool
Communication Disorders
Diagnostic Tests
Early Intervention
Family
Humans
Language
Language Acquisition
Language Development
Linguistic Input
Observation
Outcomes of Treatment
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Sentences
Young Children
Michigan
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Summary:Purpose: Sentence diversity is a measure of early language development that has yet to be applied to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The primary aim of this study was to identify whether children with ASD show change in sentence diversity over 6 months of treatment with Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI). The secondary aim was to examine possible predictors of changes in children's sentence diversity, including caregiver use of NDBI strategies, naturally occurring instances of caregiver "Toy Talk," and child characteristics. Method: Fifty children with ASD (ages 2-4 years) and their caregivers, who were receiving NDBI, engaged in two 10-min video-recorded play interactions, 6 months apart. Child speech was transcribed and coded for sentence diversity. Caregiver input was transcribed and coded for naturally occurring "Toy Talk." Zero-inflated negative binomial mixed models were used to explore predictors of change in child sentence diversity. Results: Children's sentence diversity improved over time. Changes in caregiver NDBI strategy use and caregiver baseline "Toy Talk" were significant predictors of changes in sentence diversity, as were baseline age, nonverbal ratio IQ, and child sex. Additionally, a significant interaction of caregiver baseline "Toy Talk" and change in caregiver NDBI strategies emerged; the effect of caregiver baseline "Toy Talk" on children's sentence diversity change was stronger when NDBI strategy use improved. Conclusions: Sentence diversity is a developmentally sensitive measure of language development in ASD. NDBI strategies that facilitate reciprocal social communication, combined with input composed of declarative sentences with noun or third-person pronoun subjects, may provide optimal support for children's sentence development.
ISSN:1092-4388
1558-9102
DOI:10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00458