Speech Development Across Subgroups of Autistic Children: A Longitudinal Study.
Kate Broome, Patricia McCabe, Kimberley Docking and 2 others
PMID 35438437WHAT IT FOUND
Children with more consonants in their speech at baseline were the only ones who became verbal over 12 months.
Those with few consonants stayed minimally verbal. Use consonant inventory and receptive vocabulary to guide prognosis and intervention targets.
Key findings
01Among children who started with low language and speech, those with a larger consonant inventory at baseline became verbal after 12 months, while those with fewer consonants remained minimally verbal.
02Children with high receptive vocabulary but very low speech capacity showed almost no improvement in spoken language over 12 months and consistently used AAC.
03The study identified four distinct communication profiles that remained largely stable or diverged predictably based on early speech sounds and receptive language.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (22 children), limiting statistical power and generalizability. Assessment tools varied because the cohort was heterogeneous in age and ability; some children could not complete the standardized language test (PLS-4). The parent report measure (CDI) reached ceiling for the highest-functioning children, so their true growth in vocabulary could not be measured. Intervention hours were not analyzed statistically because parents could not reliably distinguish between speech pathology and other early intervention services.
Declared interests
Funded by the University of Sydney. No other conflicts of interest reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a child's age or current expressive vocabulary predicts their speech trajectory. In this study, age did not differentiate the children who became verbal from those who did not; only the number of consonants they could produce at baseline predicted future speech development.