Receptive language in minimally speaking autistic youth

30% of autistic individuals over the age of five have minimal spoken language. Despite having minimal spoken language, how much language they understand is not well known. In this study, we designed a series of remote, touchscreen, experimental receptive language tasks. This new approach will directly measure receptive language in a detailed way in this population. This direct and detailed information about receptive language may inform how language interventions are designed for minimally speaking individuals.

We are enrolling minimally speaking autistic children between the ages of 7 and 17. Minimally speaking means they use approximately 60 spoken words of less. Participants should have adequate vision and motor skills to make a touchscreen response on a tablet. A parent must speak English (to complete online surveys).

This study involves 1-2 hours of online parent questionnaires. This study also involves 30-60 minutes of remote parent=child assessments and activities. The questionnaires and assessments/activities can be done in short increments (e.g., 10-15 minutes at a time).

This study provides a new way to directly measure receptive language in a detailed way in minimally speaking autistic children and adolescents. Following this research, this new method could be used clinically as a receptive language assessment. Direct and detailed assessment of receptive language could improve how language intervention to inform new receptive language-based interventions.