Social participation of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in natural environments can be enhanced by teaching them to communicate spontaneously, at least in situations where they have the motivation to access specific items or activities by controlling the amount of access for these stimuli. The purpose of this study was to determine…

We examined language profiles of 2571 children, 30-68 months old, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), other developmental disabilities (DD), and typical development from the general population (POP). Children were categorized as expressive dominant (ED), receptive dominant (RD), or nondominant (ND). Within each group, the ED profile was the least…

Many individuals with developmental disabilities show delays in the development of sophisticated communication skills. Listeners often misunderstand their unconventional means of communication, and breakdowns occur. A "communication repair" is a second attempt to communicate a message when a breakdown is encountered. Qualitative methods were…

Discusses the effects of a cognitive-behavioral intervention that focused on facilitating expressive behaviors with their parents of 44 children (ages 22-32 months) with pervasive developmental delays and autism. Results found the program "Learning to Speak" increased the children's verbal compliance and decreased acts of verbal noncompliance. (CR)

A study accessed the outcomes achieved by preschoolers with both severe mental retardation and autistic features who received intensive Lovass (O Ivar) behavioral treatment (n=11) and those who received minimal treatment (n=10). Results found that the intensively treated children obtained a higher mean IQ and evinced more expressive speech.…