Social communication impairments are a core deficit in autism spectrum disorder. Social communication deficit is also an early indicator of autism spectrum disorder and a factor in long-term outcomes. Thus, this symptom domain represents a critical treatment target. Identifying reliable and valid outcome measures for social communication across a…

Children with Angelman syndrome (AS) exhibit significant social, communicative and cognitive difficulties. The aim of this case study was to describe the profile of communicative abilities of a child with AS, before and after the implementation of the Hanen program "More than Words" (MTW). Additionally, changes on the language directed…

Recent studies have suggested that skill acquisition rates for children with autism spectrum disorders receiving early interventions can be predicted by child motivation. We examined whether level of interest during an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule assessment at 2?years predicts subsequent rates of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill…

Purpose: The authors sought to determine whether a program of 5 weekly doses of milieu communication teaching (MCT) would yield improvements in children's communication and word use compared with a once-weekly delivery of the same treatment. Method: Sixty-four children with intellectual and communication delay were randomly assigned to receive…

Trial interventions in DIR and ABA with twin brothers with autism were offered to help the parents choose one of the programs for their sons. Pre- and post-test scores on the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS) revealed a slight gain in the composite score of the ABA child and a slight loss in the score of the DIR child. Contrasted…