I chose to read this article because it reviewed a large number of children with Autism and PDD-NOS who had significant language delays. The study examined what predictors educators could look for and expect when working with children with ASD and/or PDD-NOS. The study found that by age 9, 24% of children with Autism obtain fluent speech and 30% are
termed nonverbal. Whereas 59% of children with pervasive developmental disorder
not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) obtain fluent speech and 4% are termed
nonverbal by age 9.
I found these results to be very interesting, as they clearly show that obtaining verbal language is much more difficult for children with an Autism diagnosis. The researchers noticed the same trend and posed the questions, "why [are there] a large number of children with ASD [that] do not develop meaningful language during their preschool years?" One of the theories that the researchers had was that repetitive behaviors may have an adverse effect on language development. I think that this theory is relevant because if a child's behaviors are appropriate and manageable, then they are in a positive learning state to learn verbal language.
This article gave me great insight into what I need to focus on when doing my research study. I will need to focus first on the participants behaviors that may be impeding his/her learning, then move onto the language acquisition training.
Reference:
Wodka, E. L., Mathy, P., & Kalb, L. (2013). Predictors of phrase and fluent speech in children with
autism and severe language delay. Pediatrics - Official Journal of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, 131(4),
e1128-e1134. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-2221
