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A Path Model of Expressive Vocabulary Skills in Initially Preverbal Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

We examined direct and indirect paths involving receptive vocabulary and diversity of key consonants used in communication (DKCC) to improve understanding of why previously identified value-added predictors are associated with later expressive vocabulary for initially preverbal children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 87). Intentional communication, DKCC, and parent linguistic responses accounted for unique variance in later expressive vocabulary when controlling for mid-point receptive vocabulary, but responding to joint attention did not. We did not confirm any indirect paths through mid-point receptive vocabulary. DKCC mediated the association between intentional communication and expressive vocabulary. Further research is needed to replicate the findings, test potentially causal relations, and provide a specific sequence of intervention targets for preverbal children with ASD.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01DC006893) and supported by a US Department of Education Preparation of Leadership Personnel grant (H325D140087), the EKS of NIH (U54HD083211) and the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (P30HD03110).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 1215 21st Avenue South, MCE 8310, South Tower, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    Jena McDaniel

  2. Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    Paul Yoder

  3. Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Linda R. Watson

Authors
  1. Jena McDaniel
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  2. Paul Yoder
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  3. Linda R. Watson
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Contributions

JM conceived of the study, participated in the design and interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript; PY conceived of the study, participated in the design, participated in the collection and interpretation of the data, and helped draft the manuscript; LRW participated in the collection and interpretation of the data and helped draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jena McDaniel.

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McDaniel, J., Yoder, P. & Watson, L.R. A Path Model of Expressive Vocabulary Skills in Initially Preverbal Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 947–960 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-3016-x

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