This preprint is under consideration at Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
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Research
Predicting Progress in Word Learning for Children With Autism and Minimal Verbal Skills
Nancy Brady
University of Kansas
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7573-9000
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
The most recent version of this article is available here.
Background: Approximately 30 % children diagnosed with autism remain minimally verbal past age 5. Interventions are often effective in increasing spoken communication for some of these children. Clinical and research decisions would be facilitated by identifying early indicators of progress in interventions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between speech sound measures obtained from the early phases of treatment and later treatment outcomes in children with autism and minimal verbal skills.
Mehtods: Twenty-three children (18 boys) between 5-9 years of age participated. We compared scores reflecting the phonemic features of word attempts produced during probes, and the number of correct words after 4 weeks of intervention to later word learning outcomes.
Results: Correlational analyses showed that both predictors were positively correlated with outcomes, but the phonemic scores were more strongly related than number of correct words. Conclusion: We conclude that phonemic scoring may be a useful measure to determine proximal gains in a spoken word learning intervention. Proximal measures are particularly helpful when trying to decide if the current course of intervention should be maintained or altered.
Keywords
autism, minimally verbal, speech, intervention
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CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
No community comments so far
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 09 Feb, 2021
Editor assigned
On 07 Feb, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 07 Feb, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 07 Feb, 2021
Editor invited
On 07 Feb, 2021
Version 1
Posted 01 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 27 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 24 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 Nov, 2020
Editor assigned
On 22 Nov, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 22 Nov, 2020
Editor invited
On 22 Nov, 2020
First submitted
On 20 Nov, 2020
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Subject Areas
Neurobiology of Disease
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This preprint is under consideration at Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research
Predicting Progress in Word Learning for Children With Autism and Minimal Verbal Skills
Nancy Brady
University of Kansas
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7573-9000
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
No community comments so far
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 09 Feb, 2021
Editor assigned
On 07 Feb, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 07 Feb, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 07 Feb, 2021
Editor invited
On 07 Feb, 2021
Version 1
Posted 01 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 27 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 24 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 Nov, 2020
Editor assigned
On 22 Nov, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 22 Nov, 2020
Editor invited
On 22 Nov, 2020
First submitted
On 20 Nov, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Neurobiology of Disease
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
The most recent version of this article is available here.
Background: Approximately 30 % children diagnosed with autism remain minimally verbal past age 5. Interventions are often effective in increasing spoken communication for some of these children. Clinical and research decisions would be facilitated by identifying early indicators of progress in interventions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between speech sound measures obtained from the early phases of treatment and later treatment outcomes in children with autism and minimal verbal skills.
Mehtods: Twenty-three children (18 boys) between 5-9 years of age participated. We compared scores reflecting the phonemic features of word attempts produced during probes, and the number of correct words after 4 weeks of intervention to later word learning outcomes.
Results: Correlational analyses showed that both predictors were positively correlated with outcomes, but the phonemic scores were more strongly related than number of correct words. Conclusion: We conclude that phonemic scoring may be a useful measure to determine proximal gains in a spoken word learning intervention. Proximal measures are particularly helpful when trying to decide if the current course of intervention should be maintained or altered.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2