Echolalia, a language phenomenon whereby individuals imitate the speech of others, is commonly used by children and adults with autism. Research into the underlying nature and meanings associated with this repetitive behaviour is characterised by a lack of conceptual definitions and conflicting opinions about the functions of echolalia. A scoping…

Background: Children born with a cleft palate with or without cleft lip (CP ± L) are known to be at risk for speech-language disorders that impact educational and social-emotional growth. It is hypothesized that speech-language intervention delivered before the age of 3 years could decrease the impact of CP ± L on speech-language development.…

Parents play a significant role in the educational development of their children. However, there is little research around utilizing parents to collect data on their children's language skills. In particular, children with autism oftentimes demonstrate delays in the acquisition and use of language. Having information on a child's language…

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by pervasive impairments, inhibiting social interaction and learning opportunities, often with ensuing behavior challenges (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Studies estimate that 25-30% of children with ASD do not develop flexible and consistent language (Hinzen et al., 2020; Schaeffer et…

Early intervention is not officially implemented in Thailand. The shortage of practitioners, the inaccessibility of early intervention services, and the lack of parental involvement extremely deprive opportunities for children who are deaf and hard of hearing to develop language and communication within the critical period. This dissertation aimed…

It is well documented that early social skills and inattention are linked to the development of children's emergent vocabulary skills; however, the existing literature primarily focuses on White, non-Latinx and/or African American children. Few studies have examined the relationships between these domains with Latinx dual language learners (DLLs)…

Preverbal communication means any social behavior that occurs before children communicate verbally. Generally, these communicative behaviors are categorized into two ways: as behavior regulation (BR) or joint attention (JA) skills. BR, also referred to as requesting, involves the use of behaviors to gain something or receive assistance (Mundy et…

Little is known about the language trajectories of minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders. The present investigation conducted observations across two elementary schools over an entire school year to analyze the vocal language development of nine minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages…

Cross-lagged panel analysis was used to examine associations between two joint engagement variables; higher order supported joint engagement and higher order supported joint engagement that co-occurs with caregiver's follow-in talk (higher order supported joint engagement + follow-in), and expressive and receptive vocabulary in a group of young…

Research demonstrates connections among children's music actions, their engagement abilities, and their language development. Although the link between music and the engagement abilities of young children with autism is well established, there is not enough evidence on the effectiveness of music strategies and music therapy interventions to…

The purpose of the current paper is to describe the impact of applied behaviour analysis on language treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) diagnoses. Specifically, this paper will describe Skinner's theory of verbal behaviour and its contributions to evidence-based treatments for communication deficits among individuals with…

Expressive language problems are common among children with Down syndrome (DS). In typically developing (TD) children, gestures play an important role in supporting the transition from one-word utterances to two-word utterances. As far as we know, an overview on the role of gestures to support expressive language development in children with DS is…

Correlational studies have revealed a positive relationship between parent verbal responsiveness and language outcomes in children with autism. We investigated whether parents of young children on the autism spectrum could learn and implement the specific categories of verbal responsiveness that have been suggested to facilitate language…

Although considerable progress has been made in improving the acquisition of expressive verbal communication in children with autism, research has documented that a subpopulation of children still fail to acquire speech even with intensive intervention. One variable that might be important in facilitating responding for this nonverbal subgroup of…

There are many kinds of speech and language disorders that can affect children. This fact sheet will present four major areas in which these impairments occur. These are the areas of: (1) Articulation; (2) Fluency; (3) Voice; and (4) Language. Following a brief narrative on a day in the life of a Speech Language Pathologist, this fact sheet…