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Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

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01-11-2006 | Original Paper

Early Predictors of Communication Development in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Joint Attention, Imitation, and Toy Play

Auteurs: Karen Toth, Jeffrey Munson, Andrew N. Meltzoff, Geraldine Dawson

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | Uitgave 8/2006

Abstract

This study investigated the unique contributions of joint attention, imitation, and toy play to language ability and rate of development of communication skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sixty preschool-aged children with ASD were assessed using measures of joint attention, imitation, toy play, language, and communication ability. Two skills, initiating protodeclarative joint attention and immediate imitation, were most strongly associated with language ability at age 3–4 years, whereas toy play and deferred imitation were the best predictors of rate of communication development from age 4 to 6.5 years. The implications of these results for understanding the nature and course of language development in autism and for the development of targeted early interventions are discussed.

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An unconditional model with both linear and quadratic terms was also run. The quadratic term in this model was not significantly different from zero (coeff. = .001134, std error = .0031, t(59) = .365, P = .716) and showed much less variability than the linear term (variance component: linear term = .34247, quadratic term = .00025), thus the model with the single linear slope was deemed most appropriate for these data.

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Titel: Early Predictors of Communication Development in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Joint Attention, Imitation, and Toy Play
Auteurs: Karen Toth
Jeffrey Munson
Andrew N. Meltzoff
Geraldine Dawson
Publicatiedatum: 01-11-2006
Uitgeverij: Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders / Uitgave 8/2006
Print ISSN: 0162-3257
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-3432
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0137-7

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