Behavior analysts frequently use the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess the language and social skills of children with autism in everyday practice and in research. Despite the widespread use of the VB-MAPP, its psychometric characteristics have not been extensively investigated. To provide information…

Producing pronouns involves linguistic and social-cognitive knowledge because children must learn words and understand pronouns' changing referents. This study examined pronoun production longitudinally in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 15), whose social-cognition might impair pronoun use, and in typically developing (TD; n…

Purpose: Differences in communication development impact long-term outcomes of children with autism. Previous research has identified factors associated with communication in children with autism, but much of the variance in communication skill remains unexplained. It has been proposed that early differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e.,…

The present study examined the relationships between the standardized applied behavior analysis (ABA) direct assessment, the PEAK Comprehensive Assessment (PCA), and established assessments commonly used in educational and clinical settings, including the Childhood Autism Rating Scale - Third Edition (CARS-3), the PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI),…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to receive several related services during their early school years. In this study, we followed 70 preschoolers with ASD and used parent reports to document the intensity of these services over a 4-year period, in relation to children's outcomes in three domains. While behavioral difficulties…

Little is known about outcomes of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder reared in bilingual homes. There are concerns that social communication deficits among children with autism spectrum disorder may reduce the developmental benefits of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder raised in bilingual…

This article presents a description of the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3; Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Saulnier, 2016), published by Pearson, which is a newly updated individually administered measure of adaptive functioning for individuals from birth to age 90. Primarily used in clinical, psychoeducational, and…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an aetiologically complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social functioning. Children with ASD display a wide range of social competence and more variability in social domains as compared with either communication or repetitive behaviour domains. There is limited understanding of factors…

Sensory symptoms are prevalent in autism spectrum disorder but little is known about the early developmental patterns of these symptoms. This study examined the development of sensory symptoms and the relationship between sensory symptoms and adaptive functioning during early childhood. Three groups of children were followed across three time…

Rett Syndrome (RTT) is characterized by severe impairment in fine motor (FM) and expressive language (EL) function, making accurate evaluations of development difficult with standardized assessments. In this study, the administration and scoring of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) were adapted to eliminate the confounding effects of FM…

Peer interaction can be challenging in autism spectrum disorder, but naturalistic peer-observation scales for preschoolers are scarce. This study examined psychometric qualities of the newly developed Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale. We tested the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale to (a) characterize peer interactions of…

The preschool years are a critical time to identify and treat early emotional or behavioral problems. Universal screening can be used to identify emotional and behavioral risk in preschoolers and fits well within current service delivery frameworks. This criterion-related validity study examined the use of a brief teacher-rated screener, the…

This prospective study of the FIRST WORDS® Project examined restricted and repetitive behaviors in a sample of 55 toddlers at a mean age of 20 months who were later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Restricted and repetitive behaviors were coded using the Repetitive Movement and Restricted Interest Scales in two video-recorded observation…

This study assessed the relationship between emotion recognition ability and social skills in 42 young children with autistic disorder aged 4-7 years. The analyses revealed that accuracy in recognition of sadness, but not happiness, anger or fear, was associated with higher ratings on the Vineland-II Socialization domain, above and beyond the…

Adaptive behaviour is a crucial area of assessment for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study examined the adaptive behaviour profile of 77 young children with ASD using the Vineland-II, and analysed factors associated with adaptive functioning. Consistent with previous research with the original Vineland a distinct autism…