Home literacy environments, interest in reading and emergent literacy skills of children with Down syndrome versus typical children

Background The present study examined home literacy environments, children's interest in reading and emergent literacy skills of pre‐school‐aged children with Down syndrome (DS; n = 20), school‐aged children with DS (n = 17) and typically developing children (n = 18) matched on chronological age with the younger DS group and mental age (MA) with the older DS group. Method Parents filled out questionnaires on their home literacy environments and their children's interest in reading. School‐aged children with DS and typical children were assessed on cognitive functioning, receptive vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, familiarity with print conventions and comprehension of meaning. Results School‐aged children with DS and typical children – as opposed to pre‐school‐aged children with DS – were exposed to more literacy‐rich home environments and had greater interest in reading. School‐aged children with DS also outperformed the MA‐matched typical group on letter and sight word knowledge and familiarity with print conventions. Conclusions Parents of children with DS tailor home literacy environments to their children's developmental levels. Confirming earlier studies, children with DS achieved some higher literacy skills than what was expected for their MA, emphasising the importance of early reading interventions for this population.     

Preschool predictors of school-age academic achievement in autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Objective: Characterization of academic functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), particularly predictors of achievement, may have important implications for intervention. The current study aimed to characterize achievement profiles, confirm associations between academic ability and concurrent intellectual and social skills, and explore preschool predictors of school-age academic achievement in a sample of children with ASD. Method: Children with ASD (n = 26) were evaluated at the approximate ages of two, four, and ten. Multiple regression was used to predict school-age academic achievement in reading and mathematics from both concurrent (i.e. school-age) and preschool variables. Results: Children with ASD demonstrated a weakness in reading comprehension relative to word reading. There was a smaller difference between mathematics skills; math reasoning was lower than numerical operations, but this did not quite reach trend level significance. Concurrent IQ and social skills were associated with school-age academic achievement across domains. Preschool verbal abilities significantly predicted school-age reading comprehension, above and beyond concurrent IQ, and early motor functioning predicted later math skills. Conclusions: Specific developmental features of early ASD predict specific aspects of school-age achievement. Early intervention targeting language and motor skills may improve later achievement in this population.     

Comprehension of presuppositions in school-age Cantonese-speaking children with and without autism spectrum disorders

ABSTRACT

While an enormous amount of research has been done on the deficient conversation skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about their performance on presuppositions, a domain of knowledge that is crucial for successful communication. This study investigated the comprehension of four types of presupposition, namely existential, factive, lexical and structural presuppositions, in school-age Cantonese-speaking children with and without ASD. A group of children with ASD (n = 21), mean age 8.8, was compared with a group of typically developing children (n = 106). Knowledge of presuppositions was evaluated based on children’s ability to judge whether a given utterance was a correct presupposition of a preceding utterance. Children with ASD were found to show a deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions, even after controlling for differences in general language ability and non-verbal intelligence. The relative difficulty of the four types of presupposition did not differ between the two groups of children. The present findings provide new empirical evidence that children with ASD have a deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions. Future research should explore whether the deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions is related to the development of theory of mind skills in children with ASD.     

Reading enhancements for students with autism spectrum disorder: A matched randomized pilot experimental study

BackgroundFor students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), improving reading comprehension is critical for increasing both their opportunities for successful postsecondary experiences including attending college and obtaining meaningful employment. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of a multicomponent reading intervention on the vocabulary and reading outcomes of middle grade students with ASD.MethodWe conducted a matched randomized pilot experimental study for students with ASD in grades 3–8 (N = 28) identified by their district personnel as having reading difficulties (i.e., not passing state reading test). An independent researcher matched participants according to symptom severity and reading fluency and then randomly assigned a member of each pair to treatment or comparison condition. Participants in treatment condition were provided 1:1 instruction for 23–30 sessions (M = 27) of 30 min each four to five days per week. Instructional components included (a) vocabulary instruction; (b) fluency with text, and (c) reading comprehension. In this pilot study, data were analyzed using repeated measures multilevel models in HLM 7. Due to the associated low statistical power to detect effects, the small sample size, and the exploratory nature of the study, we selected an alpha level of 0.10. Data were modeled as student-level variables classifying students based on their ASD symptomology from mild (level 1) to severe (level 3).ResultsThe multicomponent intervention was associated with significant gains in WJ-PC scores of 22.62 (se = 8.19, df = 3, p = .070) for students at GARS severity level 1. Significant gains favoring the intervention were also detected on vocabulary score of 10.19 (se = 2.78, df = 3, p = .035) and for students rated at GARS severity level 1 and for students rated at GARS severity level 2 [vocabulary score 5.46 (se = 1.60, df = 3, p = .042)]. Significant effects were not detected for scores on a standardized measure of reading and fluency (TOSREC), and a researcher-developed measure of reading comprehension.ConclusionsThis pilot study shows enough promise to warrant future studies employing larger sample sizes and fully powered randomized control trial (RCT) studies. Although growth is modest and appears to be limited to participants who are in the mid to higher range of the autism spectrum, considering the large percentage of students with ASD in the mid to higher range, this study contributes to the development of evidence-based practices. We interpret the findings as having implications for future research with larger sample sizes and in providing initial guidance on instruction for consideration by practitioners.     

Social cognition and Reading comprehension in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders or typical development

BackgroundMany individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit social cognitive impairments in the development of theory of mind (ToM), or the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. ToM has been shown to relate to reading comprehension for children and adolescents with typical development (TD) and with ASD. This study examined the relation between reading comprehension, word recognition, oral language, and ToM for higher-functioning children and adolescents with ASD (HFASD) as compared to those with TD.Method70 children with HFASD and 40 children with TD, aged 9–17 years, participated in the study. In order to describe the HFASD as compared to the TD sample, a series of ANOVAs and ANCOVAs were conducted. Multiple regression analyses were conducted with reading comprehension as the outcome variable. Separate regression models (TD & HFASD) were run with IQ, word recognition, oral language, and two ToM measures (Happé’s Strange Stories and the Silent Films Task) as predictors.ResultsThe TD group performed better than the HFASD group on all standardized and experimental measures. Regression analyses revealed that after controlling for IQ, word recognition, and oral language, both ToM measures predicted unique variance in reading comprehension in the HFASD, but not the TD, sample. Furthermore, the TD and HFASD groups displayed different patterns of significant predictors of reading comprehension.ConclusionsThis study suggests that in addition to oral language and higher-order linguistic comprehension, social cognition is an important factor to consider when designing reading interventions for students with ASD.     

Neurophysiological responses to faces and gaze direction differentiate children with ASD,ADHD and ASD + ADHD

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrate face processing abnormalities that may underlie social impairment. Despite substantial overlap between ASD and ADHD, ERP markers of face and gaze processing have not been directly compared across pure and comorbid cases. Children with ASD (n = 19), ADHD (n = 18), comorbid ASD + ADHD (n = 29) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 26) were presented with upright/inverted faces with direct/averted gaze, with concurrent recording of the P1 and N170 components. While the N170 was predominant in the right hemisphere in TD and ADHD, children with ASD (ASD/ASD + ADHD) showed a bilateral distribution. In addition, children with ASD demonstrated altered response to gaze direction on P1 latency and no sensitivity to gaze direction on midline-N170 amplitude compared to TD and ADHD. In contrast, children with ADHD (ADHD/ASD + ADHD) exhibited a reduced face inversion effect on P1 latency compared to TD and ASD. These findings suggest children with ASD have specific abnormalities in gaze processing and altered neural specialisation, whereas children with ADHD show abnormalities at early visual attention stages. Children with ASD + ADHD are an additive co-occurrence with deficits of both disorders. Elucidating the neural basis of the overlap between ASD and ADHD is likely to inform aetiological investigation and clinical assessment.     

Predictors of reading comprehension ability in primary school-aged children who have pragmatic language impairment

PurposeChildren who have pragmatic language impairment (CwPLI) have difficulties with the use of language in social contexts and show impairments in above-sentence level language tasks. Previous studies have found that typically developing children's reading comprehension (RC) is predicted by reading accuracy and spoken sentence level comprehension (SLC). This study explores the predictive ability of these factors and above-sentence level comprehension (ASLC) on RC skills in a group of CwPLI.MethodSixty nine primary school-aged CwPLI completed a measure of RC along with measures of reading accuracy, spoken SLC and both visual (pictorially presented) and spoken ASLC tasks.ResultsRegression analyses showed that reading accuracy was the strongest predictor of RC. Visual ASLC did not explain unique variance in RC on top of spoken SLC. In contrast, a measure of spoken ASLC explained unique variance in RC, independent from that explained by spoken SLC. A regression model with nonverbal intelligence, reading accuracy, spoken SLC and spoken ASLC as predictors explained 74.2% of the variance in RC.ConclusionsFindings suggest that spoken ASLC may measure additional factors that are important for RC success in CwPLI and should be included in routine assessments for language and literacy learning in this group.     

Brief report: Autism spectrum disorder diagnostic persistence in a 10-year longitudinal study

BackgroundThe aim was to examine diagnostic persistence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in individuals without intellectual disability from childhood to emerging adulthood.MethodWe assessed 38 children with estimated full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) >70 who were diagnosed with ASD at baseline (M_age=12.0, SD=2.3, 84% male), and re-assessed two (n=37, M_age=14.2, SD=2.4, 84% male) and 10 years (n=23, M_age=21.7, SD=2.4, 78% male) later.ResultsAt two-year follow-up, all participants still met diagnostic criteria for ASD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders – fourth version (DSM-IV). At 10-year follow-up, 65% met diagnostic criteria for ASD according to DSM-IV, 48% met diagnostic criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders – fifth version (DSM-5), 57% met the ASD cut-off on the Autism Spectrum Quotient 10-item (AQ-10), and 78% met either DSM-IV criteria or cut-off on the AQ-10. Higher IQ in childhood predicted loss of ASD diagnosis according to DSM-IV criteria (Hedges g = 1.30). A higher proportion of girls compared to boys displayed loss of ASD diagnosis according to DSM-IV criteria.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that ASD traits among individuals without intellectual disability may wane into emerging adulthood and that loss of ASD diagnosis is associated with higher IQ and being a girl. Diagnostic re-evaluations may be warranted for some individuals diagnosed with ASD as children or adolescents.     

Emotion recognition from body movement and gesture in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is improved by situational cues

BackgroundResearch shows people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have poorer emotion recognition (ER) compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. However, it is not known whether this is the case when stimuli are limited to gesture and posture, and lack facial expressions.MethodFifty-four children with (n = 27) and without (n = 27) ASD, matched on age and gender, completed an ER task, that used dynamic stimuli. Processing style bias, Autistic-like-traits and empathy were also measured. With ER as the outcome variable, a multilevel logistic model was created.ResultsChildren with ASD were found to be significantly less accurate in identifying emotions, compared to the control group. Presence of situational cues aided both groups. Autistic-like-traits and empathy were found to correlate too highly with the diagnosed condition to use in the multilevel model. Processing style did not significantly impact ER ability.ConclusionsThis study supports previous research which finds ER ability in people with ASD to be poorer than that of TD peers and that situational cues can aid ER ability. Importantly, the latter is true for people with ASD. The implication of these findings are programmes that aim to improve ER should consider using cues. Limitations of the study are discussed.     

Interrelation of food selectivity,oral sensory sensitivity,and nutrient intake in children with autism spectrum disorder: A scoping review

BackgroundFood selectivity is an emerging health concern among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Food selectivity is used to describe food refusal, limited food choices, and/or food fussiness.MethodWe used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA)-Scoping Review Guidelines to systematically identify the relationship between food selectivity and oral sensory sensitivity and the possible consequences of food selectivity on nutrient intake in children with ASD.Thirty studies were included in the review based on search terms from three online databases.ResultsAssessment of food selectivity, oral sensory sensitivity, and nutrient intake was found to be focused primarily on the parent-report technique. Only a handful of studies have used Cronbach’s alpha to measure the psychometric properties. Twenty-one of the included studies reported a higher rate of food selectivity in children with ASD than typically developing (TD) children. Notably, several studies (n =7) have identified oral hypersensitivity (e.g., taste/smell) as a significant risk factor for food aversion and/or limited variety in children with ASD. Compared with TD children, the ASD group significantly consumed significantly fewer fruits/vegetables (n = 8). The intake of micronutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and zinc that associates with food selectivity, was also low (n=13).ConclusionImplementation of screening and assessment protocols using valid and reliable instruments to identify food selectivity and oral sensory sensitivity is crucial for the medical evaluations of children with ASD.     

The development of word recognition,sentence comprehension,word spelling,and vocabulary in children with deafness: A longitudinal study

BackgroundOnly a small number of longitudinal studies have been conducted to assess the literacy skills of children with hearing impairment. The results of these studies are inconsistent with regard to the importance of phonology in reading acquisition as is the case in studies with hearing children. Colin, Magnan, Ecalle, and Leybaert (2007) revealed the important role of early phonological skills and the contribution of the factor of age of exposure to Cued Speech (CS: a manual system intended to resolve the ambiguities inherent to speechreading) to subsequent reading acquisition (from kindergarten to first grade) in children with deafness. The aim of the present paper is twofold: (1) to confirm the role of early exposure to CS in the development of the linguistic skills necessary in order to learn reading and writing in second grade; (2) to reveal the possible existence of common factors other than CS that may influence literacy performances and explain the inter-individual difference within groups of children with hearing impairment.MethodEighteen 6-year-old hearing-impaired and 18 hearing children of the same chronological age were tested from kindergarten to second grade. The children with deafness had either been exposed to CS at an early age, at home and before kindergarten (early-CS group), or had first been exposed to it when they entered kindergarten (late-CS group) or first grade (beginner-CS group). Children were given implicit and explicit phonological tasks, silent reading tasks (word recognition and sentence comprehension), word spelling, and vocabulary tasks.ResultsChildren in the early-CS group outperformed those of the late-CS and beginner-CS groups in phonological tasks from first grade to second grade. They became better readers and better spellers than those from the late-CS group and the beginner-CS group. Their performances did not differ from those of hearing children in any of the tasks except for the receptive vocabulary test. Thus early exposure to CS seems to permit the development of linguistic skills necessary in order to learn reading and writing. The possible contribution of other factors to the acquisition of literacy skills by children with hearing impairment will be discussed.     

Changes in intrinsic connectivity of the brain's reading network following intervention in children with autism

While task‐based neuroimaging studies have identified alterations in neural circuitry underlying language processing in children with autism spectrum disorders [ASD], resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging [rsfMRI] is a promising alternative to the constraints posed by task‐based fMRI. This study used rsfMRI, in a longitudinal design, to study the impact of a reading intervention on connectivity of the brain regions involved in reading comprehension in children with ASD. Functional connectivity was examined using group independent component analysis (GICA) and seed‐based correlation analysis of Broca's and Wernicke's areas, in three groups of participants: an experimental group of ASD children (ASD‐EXP), a wait list control group of ASD children (ASD‐WLC), and a group of typically developing (TD) control children. Both GICA and seed‐based analyses revealed stronger functional connectivity of Broca's and Wernicke's areas in the ASD‐EXP group postintervention. Additionally, improvement in reading comprehension in the ASD‐EXP group was correlated with greater connectivity in both Broca's and Wernicke's area in the GICA identified reading network component. In addition, increased connectivity between the Broca's area and right postcentral and right STG, and the Wernicke's area and LIFG, were also correlated with greater improvement in reading comprehension. Overall, this study revealed widespread changes in functional connectivity of the brain's reading network as a result of intervention in children with ASD. These novel findings provide valuable insights into the neuroplasticity of brain areas underlying reading and the impact of intensive intervention in modifying them in children with ASD. Hum Brain Mapp 36:2965–2979, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Oral language and narrative skills in children with specific language impairment with and without literacy delay: A three-year longitudinal study

This longitudinal study compared the development of oral language and more specifically narrative skills (storytelling and story retelling) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) with and without literacy delay. Therefore, 18 children with SLI and 18 matched controls with normal literacy were followed from the last year of kindergarten (mean age=5 years 5 months) until the beginning of grade 3 (mean age=8 years 1 month). Oral language tests measuring vocabulary, morphology, sentence and text comprehension and narrative skills were administered yearly. Based on first and third grade reading and spelling achievement, both groups were divided into a group with and a group without literacy problems. Results showed that the children with SLI and literacy delay had persistent oral language problems across all assessed language domains. The children with SLI and normal literacy skills scored also persistently low on vocabulary, morphology and story retelling skills. Only on listening comprehension and storytelling, they evolved towards the level of the control group. In conclusion, oral language skills in children with SLI and normal literacy skills remained in general poor, despite their intact literacy development during the first years of literacy instruction. Only for listening comprehension and storytelling, they improved, probably as a result of more print exposure.     

Brief report: Parent-guided movements during play with children with autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate social and communication impairments from an early age. While researchers have long investigated parenting behaviors in relation to children’s social and communication development, fewer studies have examined the relevance of movement-based parenting behaviors to facilitating communication and social engagement with young children. The present study aimed to investigate: (1) parent-guided movements (PGMs) within dyads of parents and typically developing (TD) children and children with ASD; and (2) children’s ASD diagnostic and receptive language scores as predictors of PGM frequency.MethodVideo-recorded play interactions of 33 TD dyads (mean age: 20.4 months) and 31 dyads with ASD (mean age: 32.6 months) were matched on child’s expressive language. Data were obtained from a longitudinal study on developmental language trajectories in ASD and coded for PGMs.ResultsOverall, parents of children with ASD initiated PGMs more frequently than parents of TD children during play (U = 269.00, z = − 3.58, p < 0.001). PGM frequency was predicted by children’s ADOS scores (X² = 5.46, p = 0.02, OR = 1.26, 95% CI [1.04, 1.54]) and receptive language (X² = 4.15, p = 0.04, OR = 5.43, 95% CI [1.10, 27.67]).ConclusionsFindings suggest that parents of children with ASD and low receptive language may utilize more movement-based strategies to compensate for their children’s impaired social engagement and verbal comprehension. This study offers insight on a particular movement-based modality characterizing ASD dyads that can be used as a measure in parent-mediated interventions.     

Reading decoding and comprehension in children with autism spectrum disorders: Evidence from a language with regular orthography

Decoding and comprehension skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were analysed in children native speakers of a language (Italian) with a highly regular orthography. Children with ASD were compared to children with matched intellectual functioning: a subgroup of children with ASD and borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) was compared to a subgroup of children with BIF but no signs of ASD; a subgroup of children with ASD and cognitive functioning within normal limits was compared to a group of typically developing children. Children with ASD (whether with or without BIF) showed essentially spared decoding skills in text as well as word and pseudo-word reading; this was at variance with children with BIF who, as a group, showed overall deficient decoding skills, despite considerable individual differences. By contrast, children with ASD (once again, irrespective of the presence of BIF) showed a selective impairment in reading comprehension, just like children with BIF but unlike the typically developing ones. Therefore, results are generally consistent with a profile of hyperlexia for children with ASD learning a regular orthography, as previously reported for other languages. Notably, this pattern was present irrespective of the degree of cognitive impairment, and clearly distinguished these children from those with borderline intellectual functioning but not signs of autism.     

The relationship between autism spectrum disorders and anxiety: The moderating effect of communication

Communication skills have been shown to have differing effects on levels of anxiety depending on whether or not a child has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or is typically developing. This article examined whether or not communication deficits differentially affect children with ASD compared to those without ASD. Ninety-nine children with autistic disorder (n = 33), Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS; n = 33), and no diagnosis (n = 33) were examined using the Autism Spectrum Disorders Diagnostic for Children and Comorbidity for Children scales to determine their level of anxiety and degree of communication deficits. Results indicated that anxiety decreased as communication deficits increased for those with autistic disorder compared to those with PDD-NOS or no diagnosis; however, for those with PDD-NOS anxiety increased as communication deficits increased compared to those with no diagnosis. The importance and differential impact of communication deficits on anxiety for different groups is highlighted.     

Do children with ASD have difficulty handwriting under time pressure?

BackgroundChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience significant handwriting impairment, however the influence of time pressure on overall performance is unclear. The aim of the current study was to characterise the handwriting profile of children with ASD across both non-speeded and speeded conditions, with particular focus given to spacing difficulties and handwriting errors. A further aim was to explore the relationships between handwriting and both intellectual and motor skills under different task conditions.MethodBoys with ASD (n = 23) and matched controls (n = 20) aged 8–12 years completed a modified version of the speed subtest of the Handwriting Performance Test, which allowed for both an ecologically valid and relatively simple motoric task. Participants wrote a simple phrase (cat and dog) five times in each condition.ResultsNo significant group differences were identified for handwriting errors or spacing between words in either condition, however the ASD group demonstrated greater variability relative to controls, particularly in the speeded condition. Significant negative associations were identified between motor proficiency and handwriting errors in the non-speeded condition.ConclusionsWhile motor processes are shown to have a significant role in overall handwriting proficiency, it appears that motor ability may influence the handwriting process to different degrees, depending on the nature of the task employed. A lack of group differences with respect to handwriting errors and spacing between words may suggest that children with ASD have the ability to compensate for underlying motor impairment when completing a well-practiced writing task.     

The C242T polymorphism of the gene encoding cytochrome b-245 alpha is not associated with paediatric ischaemic stroke: family-based and case-control study

Background and purposeReactive oxygen species play an important role in the physiology and pathology of cerebral arteries, including ischaemic stroke. The cytochrome b-245 alpha gene (CYBA) encodes cytochrome b-245 alpha light chain (p22phox peptide), a critical element of NAD(P)H oxidases, the most important source of superoxide anion in the cerebral arteries. To search for genetic factors associated with paediatric ischaemic stroke, the possible association between CYBA gene C242T polymorphism and the disease was evaluated.Material and methodsThe study group consisted of 238 individuals: children with ischaemic stroke (n = 70), their biological parents (n = 118) and children without any symptoms of stroke (n = 50). The C242T polymorphism was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction – restriction fragment length methodology. To evaluate the possible association between polymorphism and stroke, the transmission disequilibrium test and the case-control method were applied.ResultsThe C242 allele was transmitted more frequently than 242T (62.2% vs. 37.8%) but observed frequencies did not differ significantly from expected (p = 0.10). There were also no significant differences in allele and genotype distribution between patients and control subjects (patients: CC – 50.0%, CT – 38.6%, TT – 11.4% vs. controls: CC – 52.0%, CT – 36.0%, TT – 12.0%).ConclusionsThe study did not show that the C242T polymorphism of the CYBA gene is a risk factor of ischaemic stroke in children.     

Who is a better teacher for children with autism? Comparison of learning outcomes between robot-based and human-based interventions in gestural production and recognition

BackgroundIndividuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to show deficits in engaging with humans. Previous findings have shown that robot-based training improves the gestural recognition and production of children with ASD. It is not known whether social robots perform better than human therapists in teaching children with ASD.AimsThe present study aims to compare the learning outcomes in children with ASD and intellectual disabilities from robot-based intervention on gestural use to those from human-based intervention.Methods and proceduresChildren aged six to 12 with low-functioning autism were randomly assigned to the robot group (N = 12) and human group (N = 11). In both groups, human experimenters or social robots engaged in daily life conversations and demonstrated to children 14 intransitive gestures in a highly-structured and standardized intervention protocol.Outcomes and resultsChildren with ASD in the human group were as likely to recognize gestures and produce them accurately as those in the robot group in both training and new conversations. Their learning outcomes maintained for at least two weeks.Conclusions and implicationsThe social cues found in the human-based intervention might not influence gestural learning. It does not matter who serves as teaching agents when the lessons are highly structured.     

Assessment of social behavior in children with autism: The development of the Behavioral Assessment of Social Interactions in Young Children

There are a limited number of assessments available to examine social skills deficits in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The Behavioral Assessment of Social Interactions in Young Children (BASYC) was developed as a direct assessment of social deficits in young children with ASD relative to children without ASD. The BASYC is a semi-structured assessment designed to be administered by clinicians and teachers working with children with a possible ASD. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the BASYC discriminates social behaviors between children with and without ASD. There were 77 participants (n = 48 children with ASD; n = 29 children without ASD) in this study. Scores on the BASYC significantly predict group membership. Sensitivity and specificity of the BASYC was .977 and .871, respectively. Item discrimination indices revealed that the majority of items on the Social Responsivity scale discriminated well between groups; however, this was not the case for the Social Initiation scale. Although additional research is required, the BASYC is currently an instrument that is easy to administer, discriminates well between children with and without ASD based on social behaviors and may assist in goal planning and monitoring of social skills treatment progress.