Rate of Communicative Gestures and Developmental Outcomes in Toddlers With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder During a Home Observation.

The DD and TD groups were smaller than the ASD group. Not every child in the TD group received the ADOS, so some later autism symptom comparisons used fewer children. Families chose among home activities and no time per activity was specified, so the observation was not standardized. Some children with ASD had participated in an early social interaction intervention, although removing them did not change the prospective associations. Information about intervention for children with DD was not available. The authors caution that results may not generalize to all toddlers. Groups differed in race, parental education, and maternal age, which may influence communication measures. This was an observational study, so it cannot show that gesture use or communication rate causes later outcomes.

The study was supported by federal grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Education. It is based on the first author's dissertation. No commercial sponsor or author conflict is reported.

Do not read the gesture and communication differences as proof that autism causes low gesture use or that teaching gestures will improve language. The study observed children and measured associations; it did not test an intervention, and some children had received early social interaction therapy.