Abnormal auditory mismatch fields are associated with communication impairment in both verbal and minimally verbal/nonverbal children who have autism spectrum disorder.

The minimally verbal/nonverbal group was very small, with 9 usable scans, so the finding for that group is fragile. Many participants did not provide usable data, including 21 minimally verbal/nonverbal children, and the children who completed scans tended to have higher nonverbal cognitive ability, higher communication scores, and lower autism symptom scores, although these differences did not reach statistical significance. There was no comparison group of children with intellectual disability but without autism, so the study cannot tell whether the delayed responses are tied to autism, language impairment, or general cognitive ability. Communication was partly measured with parent report, and no single language test was valid across all groups, so language and cognitive ability were hard to separate. The study measured associations in a research setting, so it cannot show that delayed brain responses cause communication problems or that the method is ready for clinic use. Auditory sensitivity was not assessed beyond simple thresholds, so hearing or sensory reactivity may influence the results. This task came after about 30 minutes of scanning, and earlier tasks had higher success rates, so scan length may have reduced usable data.

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Do not conclude that delayed auditory brain responses cause communication impairment or that this measure can guide therapy. The study measured associations in a research setting, the minimally verbal/nonverbal group had only 9 usable scans, and the authors could not separate communication ability from general cognitive ability.