Abstract
This study investigated heterogeneity in language skills of children with autism and their relationship with different autistic social subtypes. Data from 90 autistic and 30 typically developing children were analyzed. Results showed that autistic social subtypes varied in language skill problems (aloof > passive > active-but-odd). There was a negative association between aloof dimension scores and language performance but positive for the active-but-odd dimension and no association in the passive one. Moreover, aloof dimension score was the main contributor to language performance. A receiver operating characteristic analysis suggested language vocabulary as an additional component in differentiating autistic social subtypes. These findings demonstrate that variations in language skills in autistic children provide additional information for discriminating their social subtype.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
All data is available at the following link https://osf.io/8kpvq.
References
Akobeng, A. K. (2007). Understanding diagnostic tests 3: Receiver operating characteristic curves. Acta Paediatrica, 96(5), 644–647. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.00178.x
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. DSM-IV. American Psychiatric Press Inc
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders:. DSM-V. American Psychiatric Press Inc
Beglinger, L., & Smith, T. (2005). Concurrent validity of social subtype and IQ after early intensive behavioral intervention in children with autism: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35(3), 295–303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-3292-3
Bölte, S., & Poustka, F. (2004). Diagnostic Observation Scale for Autistic Disorders: initial results of reliability and validity. Zeitschrift fur Kinder-und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, 32(1), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1024/1422-4917.32.1.45
Bonde, E. (2000). Comorbidity and subgroups in childhood autism. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9(1), 7–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s007870050110
Brämer, G. R. (1988). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems. Tenth revision. World Health Statistics Quarterly Rapport Trimestriel de Statistiques Sanitaires Mondiales, 41(1), 32–36. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-2399740
Brignell, A., Morgan, A. T., Woolfenden, S., Klopper, F., May, T., Sarkozy, V., & Williams, K. (2018). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prognosis of language outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 3(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/2396941518767610
Carmo, J. C., Duarte, E., Souza, C., Pinho, S., & Filipe, C. N. (2017). Brief report: Testing the impairment of initiation processes hypothesis in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(4), 1256–1260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3031-6
Charman, T., Pickles, A., Simonoff, E., Chandler, S., Loucas, T., & Baird, G. (2011). IQ in children with autism spectrum disorders: data from the Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP). Psychological Medicine, 41(3), 619–627. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291710000991
Chu, J., Bian, F., Yan, R., Li, Y., Cui, Y., & Li, Y. (2022). Comparison of diagnostic validity of two autism rating scales for suspected autism in a large Chinese sample. World Journal of Clinical Cases, 10(4), 1206–1217. https://doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v10.i4.1206
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203771587
Cohen, I. L., & Flory, M. J. (2019). Autism spectrum disorder decision tree subgroups predict adaptive behavior and autism severity trajectories in children with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(4), 1423–1437. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3830-4
Dale, P. S., & Fenson, L. (1996). Lexical development norms for young children. Behavior Research Methods Instruments & Computers, 28(1), 125–127. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203646
Eagle, R. F., Romanczyk, R. G., & Lenzenweger, M. F. (2010). Classification of children with autism spectrum disorders: A finite mixture modeling approach to heterogeneity. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4(4), 772–781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2010.02.001
Ehlen, F., Roepke, S., Klostermann, F., Baskow, I., Geise, P., Belica, C., et al. (2020). Small semantic networks in individuals with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment: A verbal fluency approach. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(11), 3967–3987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04457-9
Eigsti, I. M., Bennetto, L., & Dadlani, M. B. (2007). Beyond pragmatics: morphosyntactic development in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(6), 1007–1023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0239-2
Eigsti, I. M., de Marchena, A. B., Schuh, J. M., & Kelley, E. (2011). Language acquisition in autism spectrum disorders: A developmental review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(2), 681–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2010.09.001
Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). Sage publications Ltd.
Fombonne, E. (1999). The epidemiology of autism: a review. Psychological Medicine, 29(4), 769–786. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291799008508
Gesell Institute of Child Development (2012). Gesell developmental observation-revised and Gesell early screener technical report ages 3–6. Available from http://www.gesellinstitute.org
Ghaziuddin, M. (2008). Defining the behavioral phenotype of Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(1), 138–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0371-7
Gotham, K., Pickles, A., & Lord, C. (2012). Trajectories of autism severity in children using standardized ADOS scores. Pediatrics, 130(5), e1278–1284. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-3668
Hao, M., Shu, H., Xing, A., & Li, P. (2008). Early vocabulary inventory for Mandarin Chinese. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 728–733. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.728
Hong, S. J., Vogelstein, J. T., Gozzi, A., Bernhardt, B. C., Yeo, B. T. T., Milham, M. P., & Di Martino, A. (2020). Toward neurosubtypes in autism. Biological Psychiatry, 88(1), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.03.022
Howlin, P. (2003). Outcome in high-functioning adults with autism with and without early language delays: Implications for the differentiation between autism and Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022270118899
Jin, X., Sun, Y., Jiang, F., Ma, J., Morgan, C., & Shen, X. (2007). “Care for Development” intervention in rural China: a prospective follow-up study. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 28(3), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1097/dbp.0b013e31802d410b
Kaneko, A., Ohshima, R., Noda, H., Matsumaru, T., Iwanaga, R., & Ide, M. (2022). Sensory and social subtypes of Japanese individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05577-0
Kang, E., Lerner, M. D., & Gadow, K. D. (2020). Atypical communication characteristics among clinic-referred youth with and without autism spectrum disorder: Stability and associations with clinical correlates. Development and Psychopathology, 32(4), 1240–1253. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457942000070X
Ke, D. H., Su, Z. Q., Zhuang, X. Y., & Gao, X. X. (2004). Effect of active medical intervention on the physique and neuropsychological development of full-term infants: follow-up effect evaluation. Chinese Journal of Clinical Rehabilitation, 8, 6706. http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-XDKF200430090.htm
Kelly, D. J., Walker, R., & Norbury, C. F. (2013). Deficits in volitional oculomotor control align with language status in autism spectrum disorders. Developmental Science, 16(1), 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01188.x
Kenworthy, L., Black, D. O., Harrison, B., della Rosa, A., & Wallace, G. L. (2009). Are executive control functions related to autism symptoms in high-functioning children? Child Neuropsychology, 15(5), 425–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297040802646983
Khowaja, K., Salim, S. S., Asemi, A., Ghulamani, S., & Shah, A. (2020). A systematic review of modalities in computer-based interventions (CBIs) for language comprehension and decoding skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Universal Access in the Information Society, 19(2), 213–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-019-00646-1
Kousta, S. T., Vigliocco, G., Vinson, D. P., Andrews, M., & Del Campo, E. (2011). The representation of abstract words: why emotion matters. Journal of Experimental Psychology General, 140(1), 14–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021446
Landa, R. J., Gross, A. L., Stuart, E. A., & Bauman, M. (2012). Latent class analysis of early developmental trajectory in baby siblings of children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(9), 986–996. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02558.x
Lerner, M. D., De Los Reyes, A., Drabick, D. A. G., Gerber, A. H., & Gadow, K. D. (2017). Informant discrepancy defines discrete, clinically useful autism spectrum disorder subgroups. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(7), 829–839. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12730
Lombardo, M. V., Pramparo, T., Gazestani, V., Warrier, V., Bethlehem, R. A. I., Barnes, C. C., Lopez, L., Lewis, N. E., Eyler, L., & Pierce, K. (2018). Large-scale associations between the leukocyte transcriptome and BOLD responses to speech differ in autism early language outcome subtypes. Nature Neuroscience, 21(12), 1680–1688. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0281-3
Lord, C., Luyster, R., Guthrie, W., & Pickles, A. (2012). Patterns of developmental trajectories in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(3), 477–489. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027214
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., Risi, S., Gotham, K., & Bishop, S. (2009). Autism diagnostic observation schedule. Western Psychological Services
Maenner, M. J., Shaw, K. A., Bakian, A. V., Bilder, D. A., Durkin, M. S., Esler, A., et al. (2021). Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance Summaries, 70(11), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss7011a1
Meng, F. C., Xu, X. J., Song, T. J., Shou, X. J., Wang, X. L., Han, S. P., Han, J. S., & Zhang, R. (2018). Development of an autism subtyping questionnaire based on social behaviors. Neuroscience Bulletin, 34(5), 789–800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-018-0224-8
Molloy, C. A., Murray, D. S., Akers, R., Mitchell, T., & Manning-Courtney, P. (2011). Use of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) in a clinical setting. Autism, 15(2), 143–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361310379241
Pickles, A., Anderson, D. K., & Lord, C. (2014). Heterogeneity and plasticity in the development of language: A 17-year follow‐up of children referred early for possible autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(12), 1354–1362. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12269
Rellini, E., Tortolani, D., Trillo, S., Carbone, S., & Montecchi, F. (2004). Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) correspondence and conflicts with DSM-IV criteria in diagnosis of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(6), 703–708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-004-5290-2
Rødgaard, E. M., Jensen, K., Vergnes, J. N., Soulières, I., & Mottron, L. (2019). Temporal changes in effect sizes of studies comparing individuals with and without autism: a meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(11), 1124–1132. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.1956
Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., DeVellis, R. F., & Daly, K. (1980). Toward objective classification of childhood autism: Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 10(1), 91–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02408436
Short, A. B., & Schopler, E. (1988). Factors relating to age of onset in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18(2), 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211947
Shulman, C., & Guberman, A. (2007). Acquisition of verb meaning through syntactic cues: a comparison of children with autism, children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with typical language development (TLD). Journal of Child Language, 34(2), 411–423. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305000906007963
Sourvinos, S., Mavropoulos, A., Kasselimis, D. S., Korasidi, A., Voukouni, A. L., Papadopoulos, P., & Damianos, D. (2021). Brief Report: Speech and Language Therapy in Children with ASD in an Aquatic Environment: the ASLT (Aquatic Speech and Language Therapy) Program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(4), 1406–1416. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04629-7
Spek, A., Schatorjé, T., Scholte, E., & van Berckelaer-Onnes, I. (2009). Verbal fluency in adults with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. Neuropsychologia, 47(3), 652–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.11.015
Sun, X., Allison, C., Auyeung, B., Zhang, Z., Matthews, F. E., Baron-Cohen, S., & Brayne, C. (2015). Validation of existing diagnosis of autism in mainland China using standardised diagnostic instruments. Autism, 19(8), 1010–1017. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361314556785
Tager-Flusberg, H. (2006). Defining language phenotypes in autism. Clinical Neuroscience Research, 6(3–4), 219–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnr.2006.06.007
Tager-Flusberg, H., & Joseph, R. M. (2003). Identifying neurocognitive phenotypes in autism. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, 358(1430), 303–314. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2002.1198
Tager-Flusberg, H., & Kasari, C. (2013). Minimally verbal school‐aged children with autism spectrum disorder: The neglected end of the spectrum. Autism Research, 6(6), 468–478. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1329
Tóth, O., Pesthy, O., Farkas, K., Guttengéber, A., Komoróczy, E., Réthelyi, J. M., et al. (2022). Intact fluency in autism? A comprehensive approach of verbal fluency task including word imageability and concreteness. Autism Research, 15(4), 677–686. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2672
Volkmar, F. R., Cicchetti, D. V., Dykens, E., Sparrow, S. S., Leckman, J. F., & Cohen, D. J. (1988). An evaluation of the autism behavior checklist. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18(1), 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211820
West, W. C., & Holcomb, P. J. (2000). Imaginal, semantic, and surface-level processing of concrete and abstract words: an electrophysiological investigation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 12(6), 1024–1037. https://doi.org/10.1162/08989290051137558
Whitten, A., Unruh, K. E., Shafer, R. L., & Bodfish, J. W. (2018). Subgrouping autism based on symptom severity leads to differences in the degree of convergence between core feature domains. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(6), 1908–1919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3451-3
Wilcox, R. R. (2016). Comparing dependent robust correlations. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 69(3), 215–224. https://doi.org/10.1111/bmsp.12069
Wing, L., & Gould, J. (1979). Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9(1), 11–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531288
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [grant number 31,530,032 - KMK], Key Scientific and Technological projects of Guangdong Province [grant number 2018B030335001 - KMK], Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission [grant number Z181100001518005- RZ], Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province [grant number 2019B030335001-RZ], Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, UESTC [grant number ZYGX2020J027 - WHZ] and by Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province [grant number 2022NSFSC1375 - WHZ].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest Disclosure:
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Weihua Zhao, Qin Li, Rong Zhang and Keith M Kendrick contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, W., Li, Q., Zhang, X. et al. Language Skill Differences Further Distinguish Social Sub-types in Children with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 54, 143–154 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05759-w
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05759-w