The Impact of Autistic Traits on Joint Attention in Young Children With Down Syndrome During Mother-Child and Father-Child Interactions.

Purpose: Joint attention predicts later language in Down syndrome (DS) and autism. The co-occurrence of autism in children with DS is 6%-19%, which is higher than in the general population. However, little is known about how co-occurring autism in DS impacts the development of joint attention.

Stick with Static: Unexpected Detrimental Effects of Visual Movement in a Looking-While-Listening Task.

Purpose: Looking while listening (LWL) tasks track eye movements while children view images (e.g., a dog and a ball) and hear an auditory prompt (e.

Continuing the conversation about echolalia and gestalt language development: A response to Haydock, Harrison, Baldwin, and Leadbitter.

It was recently suggested that a set of ideas known as gestalt language development be embraced as a neurodiversity-affirmative practice. Neurodiversity refers to the idea that people interact with the world in many different ways and that there is not a single right way to do so. Some aspects of gestalt language development, such as embracing autistic communication, are consistent with neurodiversity.

Opportunities to Respond During Dyadic Caregiver-Child and Naturalistic Family Interactions Among Children With Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Investigation.

Purpose: Dyadic caregiver-child interactions are commonly used to examine children's language learning environments. However, children frequently interact with multiple caregivers and/or siblings if they come from homes with multiple caregivers and siblings. Thus, we examined if and how caregiver opportunities to respond (OTRs) varied when sampled across three interaction configurations.

Comparative analysis of electrodermal activity metrics and their association with child behavior in autism spectrum disorder.

Researchers are increasingly utilizing physiological data like electrodermal activity (EDA) to understand how stress "gets under the skin." Results of EDA studies in autistic children are mixed, with some suggesting autistic hyperarousal, others finding hypoarousal, and yet others detecting no difference compared to non-autistics. Some of this variability likely stems from the different techniques used to assess EDA.

A commentary on children's books about autism: What messages do they send about neurodiversity?

The past three decades have seen an exponential increase in the publication of children's books about autism. This increased availability of children's books is exciting because they have the power to promote understanding, acceptance, and appreciation of neurodiversity. However, growing concerns have been raised by both autistic and non-autistic people that some children's books about autism may work against neurodiversity, rather than promoting it.

Parent Certainty and Consistency When Completing Vocabulary Checklists in Young Autistic Children.

Purpose: Using a novel parent report measure, this study investigated whether asking parents to rate their certainty when reporting on child vocabulary skills provided additional insight into parent report and emerging language abilities in young autistic children. Specifically, we investigated whether parent certainty varied based on whether the child was reported to understand, understand and say, or neither understand nor say the word and whether standardized measures of expressive and receptive language abilities and/or autistic traits predicted parent certainty. Lastly, we investigated whether certainty was associated with inconsistency in parent report of child word knowledge.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Self-Reported Language Input and Recommendations During Early Intervention.

This study examined the extent to which early intervention (EI) speech-language pathologists (SLPs) use and recommend language input strategies for caregivers of children with language delays and the child factors associated with these decisions. Participants included 213 SLPs who completed an online survey. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Friedman's analyses of variance, and Spearman correlations were used to determine the extent to which EI SLPs used and recommended language input, child factors that influenced recommendations and input, and relationships between SLPs' self-reported strategies and recommendations to caregivers.

Change in Maladaptive Behavior Affects Intergenerational Relationships in Fragile X Syndrome.

This study investigated the bidirectional effects of change in maladaptive behaviors among adolescents and adults with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and change in their intergenerational family relationships over a 7.5-year period. Indicators of the intergenerational family relationship between premutation carrier mothers and their adolescent or adult son/daughter with FXS included a measure of the quality of the relationship, as well as descriptions provided by mothers of their relationship with their son/daughter (positive remarks, critical remarks).

Assessing the Quantity and Quality of Language Used by Mothers and Fathers of Children with Down Syndrome During Shared Book Reading.

Young children with Down syndrome (DS) have language delays beginning early in life. Book reading with parents provides a context for capitalizing on language learning opportunities. This study evaluated the quantity and quality of language input among mothers and fathers of young children with DS during book reading interactions and investigated associations with child language.

Parental Depression Symptoms and Internalizing Mental Health Problems in Autistic Children.

Autistic youth are at risk for internalizing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Similarly, parents of autistic youth report higher levels of depression than parents of typically developing children. The goal of this study was to examine bidirectional associations between parent depression symptoms and the internalizing problems of autistic youth in 188 families across four time points (T1-T4; spaced 12 months apart).

Maternal Use of Decontextualized and Contextualized Talk: An In-Depth Investigation of Early Parent-Child Interactions in Down Syndrome.

Purpose The goal of this study was to characterize and quantify maternal use of decontextualized and contextualized input during mother-child interactions including young children with Down syndrome (DS). Method Participants included 22 mother-child dyads with DS ( = 42.8 months) and 22 mother-child dyads with typical development ( = 44.

Verbal Ability, Behavior Problems, and Mother-Child Relationship Quality in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study examined differences in mother-child relationship quality and parent-rated child behavior problems based on child verbal status (i.e., minimally verbal versus verbal) in mothers and their adolescent and adult children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 219 dyads; child M = 25.

Parent Command Use and Child Compliance During Parent-Child Interactions Including Children With Down Syndrome.

Purpose This study investigated maternal and paternal command use and child compliance in children with Down syndrome during mother-child and father-child free-play interactions. We also examined child compliance to direct versus indirect commands, and the relationships between maternal command use, paternal command use, child compliance, and child speech and language abilities. Method Fifteen families including a mother, father, and child with Down syndrome participated.

Brief Report: Linguistic Mazes and Perseverations in School-Age Boys with Fragile X Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder and Relationships with Maternal Maze Use.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and fragile X syndrome (FXS) are neurodevelopmental disorders with overlapping pragmatic language impairments. Prior work suggests pragmatic language differences may run in families. This study examined specific pragmatic difficulties (i.

Mother-father physiological synchrony during conflict and moderation by parenting challenges: Findings from parents of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Introduction: Despite robust evidence in the broader family process literature for within-couple associations between romantic partners' physiological responding, this linkage has not been tested directly among parents raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Explicit attention to these parents is warranted on the basis of the established family-wide challenges associated with the persistent emotional, functional, and behavior impairments typically observed in children with ASD (see Karst & Van Hecke, 2012). The first purpose of this study is to extend examination of within-couple associations between electrodermal activity (EDA) to mothers and fathers of children with ASD.

Maternal Input and Child Language Comprehension During Book Reading in Children With Down Syndrome.

Purpose Communication interactions between parents and children during shared book reading impact a child's development of both language and literacy skills. This study examined maternal language input and child expressive communication during a shared book reading activity in children with Down syndrome (DS) and children with typical development (TD). Additionally, children's receptive language was examined to understand the relationship between maternal language input and child receptive language ability.

"Are We Done Yet?" Question-Asking in Boys With Fragile X Syndrome and Idiopathic Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Purpose Question-asking serves as a tool to learn new information and is important in both academic and social settings. Boys with idiopathic autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and boys with fragile X syndrome and comorbid ASD (FXS + ASD) have similar social communication deficits, which may have downstream effects on their question-asking ability. This study examined question-asking in school-age boys with idiopathic ASD and FXS + ASD, including the role of ASD severity, expressive grammatical complexity (measured by mean length of utterance [MLU]), and IQ.

The use of demonstratives and personal pronouns in fragile X syndrome and autism spectrum disorder.

Demonstratives (e.g. here, that, these) and personal pronouns are early developing components of language, which are often impaired in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Maternal Responsiveness to Gestures in Children With Down Syndrome.

Purpose: This study compared gesture use in young children with Down syndrome (DS) and typical development (TD) as well as how mothers respond to child gestures based on child age and diagnosis.

Method: Twenty-two mother-child dyads with DS and 22 mother-child dyads with TD participated. The child participants were between 22 and 63 months and were matched on chronological age.

The impact of autism spectrum disorder symptoms on gesture use in fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome.

Background & Aims: This study compared gesture rate and purpose in participants with Down syndrome (DS) and fragile X syndrome (FXS), and the impact of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms on each syndrome.

Methods: Twenty individuals with fragile X syndrome and 20 individuals with Down syndrome between nine and 22 years of age participated in this study. We coded gesture rate and purpose from an autism spectrum disorder evaluation, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule - Second Edition.