Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Home
Hostname: page-component-ffbbcc459-2657c Total loading time: 0.282 Render date: 2022-03-03T02:06:53.285Z Has data issue: true Feature Flags: { "shouldUseShareProductTool": true, "shouldUseHypothesis": true, "isUnsiloEnabled": true, "useRatesEcommerce": false, "useNewApi": true }
  • English
Journal of Child Language Journal of Child Language

Article contents

Lexical composition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2012

LESLIE RESCORLA  and
PAIGE SAFYER
LESLIE RESCORLA
Affiliation:
Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, USA
PAIGE SAFYER
Affiliation:
Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions[Opens in a new window]

Abstract

For sixty-seven children with ASD (age 1;6 to 5;11), mean Total Vocabulary score on the Language Development Survey (LDS) was 65·3 words; twenty-two children had no reported words; and twenty-one children had 1–49 words. When matched for vocabulary size, children with ASD and children in the LDS normative sample did not differ in semantic category or word-class scores. Q correlations were large when percentage use scores for the ASD sample were compared with those for samples of typically developing children as well as children with vocabularies <50 words. The 57 words with the highest percentage use scores for the ASD children were primarily nouns, represented a variety of semantic categories, and overlapped substantially with the words having highest percentage use scores in samples of typically developing children as well as children with lexicons of <50 words. Results indicated that the children with ASD were acquiring essentially the same words as typically developing children, suggesting delayed but not deviant lexical composition.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 40 , Special Issue 1: Atypical development , January 2013 , pp. 47 - 68
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

[*]

Address for correspondence: Leslie Rescorla, Bryn Mawr College – Psychology, 101 N. Merion Ave Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania 19010, United States. e-mail: lrescorl@brynmawr.edu

References

Achenbach, T. M. & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA Preschool Scales and Profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn. Washington, DC: Author.Google ScholarPubMed
Bates, E., Marchman, V., Thal, D., Fenson, L., Dale, P., Reznick, J. S., Reilly, J. & Hartung, J. (1994). Development and stylistic variation in the composition of early vocabulary. Journal of Child Language 21, 85–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benedict, H. (1979). Early lexical development: Comprehension and production. Journal of Child Language 6, 183–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charman, T., Drew, A., Baird, C. & Baird, G. (2003). Measuring early language development in pre-school children with autism spectrum disorder using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (Infant Form). Journal of Child Language 30, 213–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, E. (1973). What's in a word: On the child's first acquisition of semantics in his first language. In Moore, T. E. (ed.), Cognitive development and the acquisition of language, 65–110.New York, NY: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd edn. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Curtiss, S., Katz, W. & Tallal, P. (1992). Delay versus deviance in the language acquisition of language-impaired children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research 35, 373–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dale, P. S. & Fenson, L. (1996). Lexical development norms for young children. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers 28, 125–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dale, P. S. & Goodman, J. (2005). Commonality and individual differences in vocabulary growth. In Tomasello, M. & Slobin, D. I. (eds), Beyond nature–nurture: Esssays in honor of Elizabeth Bates, 41–80. London: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Ellis Weismer, S., Gemsbacher, M. A., Stronach, S. & Karasinski, C. (2011). Lexical and grammatical skills in toddlers on the autism spectrum compared to late talking toddlers. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 41, 1065–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellis Weismer, S., Lord, C. & Eisler, A. (2010). Early language patterns of children on the autism spectrum compared to toddlers with developmental delay. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 40, 1259–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fenson, L., Dale, P. S., Reznick, J. S., Bates, E., Thal, D. J. & Pethick, S. J. (1994). Variability in early communicative development. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 59 (5, Serial No. 242).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fombonne, E. (2003). The prevalence of autism. Journal of the American Medical Association 289, 87–99.Google ScholarPubMed
Hendrick, D., Prather, E. & Tobin, A. (1984). Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development, rev. edn. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.Google Scholar
Howlin, P. (2005). Outcome in autism and Asperger syndrome. In Volkmar, F. R., Paul, R., Klin, A. & Cohen, D. J. (eds), Handbook of autism and Asperger Syndrome, 3rd edn., 201–220. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Kjelgaard, M. M. & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2001). An investigation of language impairment in autism: Implications for genetic subgroups. Language and Cognitive Processes 16, 287–308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klin, A. & Volkmar, F. R. (1999). Autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. In Goldstein, S. & Reynolds, C. R. (eds), Handbook of neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders in children, 247–70. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Landa, R. (2007). Early communication development and intervention for children with autism. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews 13, 16–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laudau, B., Smith, L. B. & Jones, S. S. (1988). The importance of shape in early lexical learning. Cognitive Development 3, 299–321.Google Scholar
Leopold, W. (1939). Speech development of a bilingual child: A linguist's record, Vol. 1. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.Google Scholar
Lord, C., Risi, S. & Pickles, A. (2004). Trajectory of language development in autistic spectrum disorders. In Rice, M. & Warren, S. (eds), Developmental language disorders: From phenotypes to etiologies, 7–29. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. & Risi, S. (1999). The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological.Google ScholarPubMed
Luyster, R. J., Kadlec, M. B., Carter, A. & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2008). Language assessment and development in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 38, 1426–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luyster, R. J., Qui, S., Lopez, K. & Lord, C. (2007). Predicting outcomes of children referred for autism using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 50, 667–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mahwood, L., Howlin, P. & Rutter, M. (2000). Autism and developmental receptive language disorder – a comparative follow-up study in early adult life: Cognitive and language outcomes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines 41, 547–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markman, E. (1989). Categorization and naming in children. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Mullen, E. (1995). Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service, Inc.Google Scholar
Nelson, K. (1973). Structure and strategy in learning to talk. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 149, 1–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papaeliou, C. & Rescorla, L. A. (2011). Vocabulary development in Greek children: A cross-linguistic comparison using the Language Development Survey. Journal of Child Language 38, 861–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rescorla, L. A. (1980). Overextension in early language development. Journal of Child Language 7, 321–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rescorla, L. A. (1989). The Language Development Survey: A screening tool for delayed language in toddlers. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders 54, 587–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rescorla, L. A. & Achenbach, T. M. (2002). Use of the Language Development Survey in a national probability sample of children aged 18–35 months. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 45, 733–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rescorla, L. A. & Alley, A. (2001). Validation of the Language Development Survey (LDS): A parent report tool for identifying language delay in toddlers. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 44, 434–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rescorla, L. A., Alley, A. & Christine, J. (2001) Word frequencies in toddlers' lexicons. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 44, 598–609.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rescorla, L. A., Ratner, N. B., Jusczyk, P. & Jusczyk, A. M. (2005). Concurrent validity of the Language Development survey (LDS): Associations with the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Inventory: Words and Sentences. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 14, 156–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J. & Renner, B. R. (1988). The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Los Angeles: Western Psychological.Google Scholar
Sigman, M. & McGovern, C. (2005). Improvement in cognitive and language skills from preschool to adolescence in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 35, 15–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, V., Mirenda, P. & Zaidman-Zait, A. (2007). Predictors of expressive vocabulary growth in children with autism. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 50, 149–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sparrow, S. S., Balla, D. A. & Cicchetti, D. V. (1984). Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google ScholarPubMed
Sparrow, S. S., Cicchetti, D. V. & Balla, D. A. (2005). Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: Second Edition. Livonia, MN: Pearson Assessments.Google Scholar
Stephenson, W. (1935). Technique of factor analysis. Nature 136, 297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephenson, W. (1953). The study of behavior: Q-technique and its methodology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Swenson, L., Kelly, E., Fein, D. & Naigles, L. R. (2007). Processes of language acquisition in children with autism: Evidence from preferential looking. Child Development 78, 542–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tager-Flusberg, H. & Caronna, E. (2007). Language disorders: Autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Pediatric Clinics of North America 54, 469–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tek, S., Jaffery, G., Fein, D. & Naigles, L. R. (2008). Do children with autism spectrum disorders show a shape bias in word learning? Autism Research 1, 208–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Venter, A., Lord, C. & Schopler, E. (1992). A follow-up study of high-functioning autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 33, 489–507.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24
Cited by

Send article to Kindle

To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about sending to your Kindle.

Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Lexical composition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)*
Available formats
×

Send article to Dropbox

To send this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your <service> account. Find out more about sending content to Dropbox.

Lexical composition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)*
Available formats
×

Send article to Google Drive

To send this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your <service> account. Find out more about sending content to Google Drive.

Lexical composition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)*
Available formats
×
×

Reply to: Submit a response

Please enter your response.

Your details

Please enter a valid email address.

Conflicting interests

Do you have any conflicting interests? *