Signaling of noncomprehension in communication breakdowns in fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder.
Gary E Martin, Jamie Barstein, Jane Hornickel and 3 others
PMID 28161297WHAT IT FOUND
Boys and girls with fragile X syndrome plus autism and those with Down syndrome signaled confusion less often than typical peers in a structured task.
Boys with fragile X alone or autism alone performed like typical peers. Autism severity predicted fewer signals in boys with fragile X.
Key findings
01Boys with comorbid fragile X syndrome and autism and boys with Down syndrome made fewer noncomprehension signals overall than boys with idiopathic autism and typical development.
02Girls with comorbid fragile X syndrome and autism and girls with Down syndrome made fewer noncomprehension signals overall than girls with typical development.
03No significant sex differences in noncomprehension signaling were found within any diagnostic group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study did not include a comparison group of girls with idiopathic autism. Groups that performed similarly to typical controls had higher receptive vocabulary abilities than those who performed poorly, which may confound results. Expressive language skill was not measured or controlled for. The structured nature of the task may not capture pragmatic deficits that appear in more naturalistic conversational settings.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that boys with fragile X syndrome without autism have deficits in signaling noncomprehension. The study found that boys with fragile X alone did not differ from typical controls, and boys with idiopathic autism also performed similarly to typical controls.