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PubMed2005

Assessment of social communication skills in preschoolers.

This paper orients the reader to social communication assessment and reviews methods for assessing social communication behavior in children from toddlerhood through the preschool years. Most standardized, normed tests of language in this age range focus on morpho-syntactic and semantic comprehension and production abilities. While social communication is perhaps one of the most important skills for peer acceptance, these skills are often overlooked in language evaluation with children. However, there are a number of caregiver questionnaires, interviews, or direct social-communication sampling methods that are available to assist clinicians or researchers in documenting social-communication skills or behaviors. Since assessment of social communication is essential in clinical work with children with an autism spectrum disorder, some of the tools described below are outgrowths of autism research or provide autism-related scores. While many children receiving social communication assessments do not have autism, the need to assess social communication skills in children with language impairment is highlighted by the growing literature documenting social and pragmatic difficulties in this population (Bishop 2000 Causes, Characteristics, Intervention, and Outcome. Hove, UK: Psychology press). Regardless of whether the measures presented herein were initially designed for children with autism or not, they will provide insights into the social communicative behaviors or tendencies in young children.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1996

Modularity of language reconsidered.

This paper focuses on claims for the modularity of language that have been voiced within the field of cognitive developmental disorders. It will be argued that, whereas there is sound empirical support for "little" modularity, i.e., the internal modularity of the grammar, the cases that have been brought up in the literature do not, in fact, provide support for "Big" Modularity, i.e., the Modularity of the language faculty. The cases discussed are children with William's Syndrome and the retarded individuals studied by Cromer (1993), Curtiss (1979, 1988), Rondal (1993), Smith and Tsimpli (1995), and Yamada (1990). Rather then making the case for Modularity. it is suggested that these individuals' linguistic performance can best be described in terms of uniquely preserved accessing privileges for language which enable them to reach levels of performance that they cannot reach through other modalities.

Brain↗
PubMed1975

[Extraversion (e), neuroticism (n), and psychoticism (p) in deaf people (author's transl)].

The personality of deaf people was studied within the framework of the Eysenck concept of personality. Data gathered with the Personality Inventory AUPI could be evaluated in 66 deaf people (43 connatal or early acquired deafness, 25 late deafness, i.e. after full language development). The consistency of the AUPI Scales in the normal population about corresponds to that in the deaf people. -- Those who went deaf "early" showed a statistically significant higher degree of extraversion than the normal population. There was no significant difference in neuroticism (emotional lability). "Early" deaf people had the highest value of psychoticism; and those who developed deafness "late" also differed significantly from the normal population. Psychoticism is--according to Baumann and Dittrich reactive aggressivity and depression (reactive to frustration).

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1981

Sensorimotor skills and language comprehension in autistic children.

The objectives of this study were to examine the level of sensorimotor concepts of young autistic children and to relate these concepts to language comprehension. A sample of 16 autistic children with a mean mental age of 24.8 months was administered a standardized scale of sensorimotor intelligence and of receptive language. The autistic children demonstrated surprisingly sophisticated sensorimotor skills, particularly object permanence. While their initial performance was inferior to that of normal controls matched on mental age, particularly in their use of objects in combination, the difference between groups diminished on the second test administration. On the receptive language measure, the autistic children were less able to identify words correctly. The sensorimotor behavior of autistic children who demonstrated language comprehension did not differ from those who showed no language comprehension, except that the former group tended to use an object as an instrument somewhat more frequently. The fact that the autistic children were so impaired in language even with fairly good sensorimotor skills suggests that these skills, particularly object permanence, play a minor role in their language acquisition.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

A follow-up study of 201 children with autism in Kyushu and Yamaguchi areas, Japan.

A follow-up survey was conducted on 201 young adults with autism who were 18 or older (mean age, 21.5). All had participated previously in intensive therapeutic camping or had therapeutic involvement at medical consultation agencies to evaluate their outcome. Their social outcome was better than that previously reported in Japan. Although 31.5% had shown marked deterioration during adolescence, 43.2% had shown marked improvement during that period. Possible factors contributing to these results are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Steady as a rock: does the steady state represent cognitive fossilization?

A study was performed in which data were obtained from adults and children with respect to their control of the inflexional morphology of the Spanish verbal system. Results indicate that adults have inferior knowledge of the paradigm compared to the children. Based on the types of errors committed, it is argued that linguistic knowledge may be more an ability to analogize correctly than to follow (unconscious) rules. Implications for GB (Government and Binding) theory and first and second language acquisition are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Behavior problems in children with speech and language retardation.

A systematic evaluation for speech and language retardation and behavioral disorders were conducted on 100 children (mean age five years, six months) presenting consecutively to a suburban speech and hearing clinic. It revealed that parents, teachers, and an examining psychiatrist agreed that these children frequently had associated behavioral problems, some quite common. This indicated the need for a speech or language therapist to systematically assess a child for possible behavioral problems in order to establish a more comprehensive and effective treatment plan for the child.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Sign language and multisensory input training of children with communication and related developmental disorders.

This report deals with the preliminary findings of a research project on simultaneous communication and multisensory input in the treatment of six autistic and communication disordered children. The children, aged 5 to 12, were taught manually signed English and speech using a multisensory-intrusion approach. The hypothesis was that such a technique would serve to alleviate the children's difficulties in information processing, organization of experience, and affect. The dependent measures were behavioral ratings derived from both structured (teaching) and unstructured (free play) sessions. The results indicate that the children manifested a consistent acquisition of sign lanuage, which in some cases transferred into verbal communication skills. Moreover, statistical analyses of some of the observed socioaffective behaviors (i.e., nonsolitary play, interaction with peers and adults, exploration, and detachment) revealed tendencies supportive of the hypothesis. The variability of the data preclude any categorical statement in relation to the hypothesis. However, the preliminary results strongly support the continuation of the study.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1979

Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: epidemiology and classification.

The prevalence, in children aged under 15, of severe impairments of social interaction, language abnormalities, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors was investigated in an area of London. A "socially impaired" group (more than half of whom were severely retarded) and a comparison group of "sociable severely mentally retarded" children were identified. Mutism or echolalia, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors were found in almost all the socially impaired children, but to a less marked extent in a minority of the sociable severely retarded. Certain organic conditions were found more often in the socially impaired group. A subgroup with a history of Kanner's early childhood autism could be identified reliably but shared many abnormalities with other socially impaired children. The relationships between mental retardation, typical autism, and other conditions involving social impairment were discussed, and a system of classification based on quality of social interaction was considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Linguistic pragmatics and language intervention strategies.

The recent research focus on pragmatics leads to the consideration of issues of language use that have fundamental practical implications for language assessment and intervention. Specifically, the pragmatic orientation suggests changes in the content of language assessments, by evaluating various communicative functions the child expresses, and modifications in the process of language assessment, by encouraging both the initiating and responding dimensions of the child's communicative behavior. Furthermore, the pragmatic focus suggests changes in the process of intervention. The primary goal of intervention becomes facilitation of generalized communicative functions for which syntactic structures and semantic content are only the tools. And the pragmatic framework suggests guidelines for what constitute appropriate reinforcers that sustain rather than interrupt communicative interactions.

Child↗
PubMed1983

A pragmatic approach to increase expressive language skills in young autistic children.

This paper is a description of a pilot communication program for autistic children designed to increase communication skills in the context of establishing reciprocal communication exchanges. The methods involved intensive modeling of verbal responses within joint activity routines and using a reinforcement system based on fulfilling the intent of the child's communication. Five male subjects ranging in age from 36 to 68 months participated in the communication program for 6 weeks during an inpatient stay at the Iowa Autism Program, Child Psychiatry Service. Communication exchanges involving requests for actions and objects, descriptions of actions and objects, comments on existence and nonexistence, and requests for recurrence were targeted. Individual gains for each subject are outlined. Posttreatment results indicated a significant increase in the mean length of response, in the mean receptive language level, and in the mean number of semantic-grammatical rules expressed. Suggestions regarding future research are discussed.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1986

Ontogeny of communicative functions in autism.

Autistic children have been stereotyped as noncommunicative and noninteractive; however, this may be partly attributed to traditional research approaches that do not consider the intentions of the child or the context of the social interaction. This discussion reviews some recent investigations that have used a developmental pragmatics framework to study language and communicative behaviors associated with autism. A working model of the ontogeny of communicative functions in autistic children is proposed. The communicative profile associated with autism is explained by factors related to the child's language-learning environment, as well as factors inherent in the child. Clinical implications for the design of language intervention programs for autistic children are offered.

Attention↗
PubMed1976

Articulation in early childhood autism.

Using a standardized articulation test, comparisons were made between the articulation of autistic children and (1) a group of predominantly subnormal language matched controls; (2) developmental receptive dysphasic controls. The autistic children's articulation was significantly superior to that of both control groups. The findings are discussed in relation to differences in the pattern of language impairment in the three groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Modifying the verbal expression of a child with autistic behaviors.

The Bell and Howell Language Master was used in conjunction with the Monterey Language Program to modify the verbal expression of a nine-year-old boy with autistic behaviors. The goal was to train the child to correctly name up to 10 pictures presented individually. Two training modes were used. For one, the therapist spoke at the time (live voice). For the other, she presented a tape recording of her voice via a Language Master. The results suggested that the child's responses to the Language Master were as good as, if not better than, his responses to the live-voice presentations. In addition, observation indicated that he responded more readily to the Language Master presentations. His spontaneous speech was also noted by independent observers to improve in his classroom and in his home. Possible reasons for the improvement in verbal expression are considered.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1996

Seizures in a boy with succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency treated with vigabatrin (gamma-vinyl-GABA).

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disease involving the catabolism of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The main symptoms include retardation of psychomotor and language development, muscle hypotonia and non-progressive ataxia. Therapy consisting of approximately 75 mg/kg per day of vigabatrin, an irreversible inhibitor of GABA-transaminase, is reported to lead to some improvement of the clinical condition in affected patients. We report on a 12-year-old boy with SSADH deficiency who, when treated with 75 mg/kg per day of vigabatrin, showed marked amelioration of symptoms but also EEG changes and two generalized seizures. On discontinuing vigabatrin therapy, the seizures resolved and the EEG improved, but the patient's clinical condition deteriorated to its pre-treatment state. A stable EEG without the recurrence of seizures as well as renewed improvement of cognitive and behavioural functions was achieved with a reduced vigabatrin dose of 25 mg/kg per day. We conclude that vigabatrin in SSADH deficiency should be administered in a gradually increasing dosage combined with frequent evaluation of the clinical condition and the EEG.

4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase↗