A new measure of child vocal reciprocity in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Amy L Harbison, Tiffany G Woynaroski, Jon Tapp and 3 others
PMID 29509308WHAT IT FOUND
Daylong recordings of young children with autism produced a new vocal back-and-forth score that rose with their consonant variety.
It is a research measure, not a treatment result, and was tested in 21 children.
Key findings
01In 21 preschoolers with autism, the vocal reciprocity score was associated with consonant inventory.
02The association remained after accounting for how often the child or adult vocalized and for chance sequencing.
03The score had test-retest reliability of .78 when averaged across two daylong samples.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 21 preschoolers were analysed, and 16 were preverbal, so it says little about older or more verbal children. The real-data study was correlational and measured variables at the same time, so it cannot show that vocal reciprocity causes speechlikeness or predicts later language. The recordings did not identify which adult spoke, so the score reflects responses to many adults, not one specific communication partner. The simulation assumptions may not match real-life vocal patterns in children with ASD. This was measure development, not an intervention trial, so it does not show that therapy changes the score or improves speech.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest statement. The article is tagged as supported by NIH and U.S. government non-PHS research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a therapy that increases vocal back-and-forth will improve speech. The paper tested a measurement score in a small correlational sample, not an intervention.