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Comparing Spoken Language Treatments for Minimally Verbal Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Preschoolers with severe autism and minimal speech were assigned either a discrete trial or a naturalistic language treatment, and parents of all participants also received parent responsiveness training. After 12 weeks, both groups showed comparable improvement in number of spoken words produced, on average. Approximately half the children in each group achieved benchmarks for the first stage of functional spoken language development, as defined by Tager-Flusberg et al. (J Speech Lang Hear Res, 52: 643–652, 2009). Analyses of moderators of treatment suggest that joint attention moderates response to both treatments, and children with better receptive language pre-treatment do better with the naturalistic method, while those with lower receptive language show better response to the discrete trial treatment. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Autism Speaks Foundation, the Autism Science Foundation, and MidCareer Grant K24 HD045576 from the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders. We wish to thank Prof. Paul Yoder for guiding us in the use of moderator analyses. Many clinicians contributed to this research through their work with the participants, including Elizabeth Schoen, Megan Lyons Moira Lewis, Sarita Austin, Brittany Butler, and Maysa Akbar. We also wish to thank the administration and faculty of the Skane School in Bridgeport, CT and Helene Grant School in New Haven, CT for their invaluable help. Finally, we extend our gratitude to the children and families who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, 40 Temple St. # 7D, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Daniel Campbell

  2. Department of Speech-Language Pathology, College of Health Professions, Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Ave., Fairfield, CT, 06825, USA

    Rhea Paul

  3. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Kimberly Gilbert

  4. Larisa University Hospital, Larisa, Greece

    Ioanna Tsiouri

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  1. Rhea Paul
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Correspondence to Rhea Paul.

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Paul, R., Campbell, D., Gilbert, K. et al. Comparing Spoken Language Treatments for Minimally Verbal Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 418–431 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1583-z

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