Early Markers of Language Growth in Autistic Toddlers (EMERGE)

We are studying language development in toddlers with early expressive language delays and signs of autism. We want to know what helps them develop expressive language over time. We are particularly interested in toddlers from families who receive government assistance like Medicaid, WIC, etc as these families have not often been represented in child development research.

• Children aged 16-26 months
• Children who are diagnosed with autism or have concerns for autism
• Children who use less than 5 words
• Families whose primary language is English

• Completing online surveys
• Participating in 3 home visits for us to complete play-based assessments with your child and look at their brain activity using EEG
• Each visit will take up to 9 hours, including completing surveys and the in-home visit

We hope to improve our understanding of why some developmentally delayed, autistic children begin to use words and others do not. Many 18-24 month old autistic children have no words and about half of these children continue to show significant language delays at 30-33 months old. Speaking early is important because it has long-lasting effects on overall development. Understanding why language growth varies over this critical language learning window is essential to improving effective early intervention.