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Receptive Vocabulary in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Cross-Sectional Developmental Trajectories

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Abstract

In light of evidence that receptive language may be a relative weakness for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this study characterized receptive vocabulary profiles in boys with ASD using cross-sectional developmental trajectories relative to age, nonverbal cognition, and expressive vocabulary. Participants were 49 boys with ASD (4–11 years) and 80 typically developing boys (2–11 years). Receptive vocabulary, assessed with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, was a weakness for boys with ASD relative to age and nonverbal cognition. Relative to expressive vocabulary, assessed with the Expressive Vocabulary Test, receptive vocabulary increased at a lower rate for boys with ASD. Vocabulary trajectories in ASD are distinguished from typical development; however, nonverbal cognition largely accounts for the patterns observed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIH grants R01HD024356, R01HD054764, T32 DC005359, and P30HD03352, as well as F31DC010959, which was awarded to the first author. Preliminary results were presented at the 2012 Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders in Madison, Wisconsin. We offer our gratitude to the families who participated in this study. We would like to thank those individuals who contributed to the collection of data: Beth Goodlin-Jones, Susan Harris, David Benjamin, Susen Schroeder, Sara Armson, Eileen Haebig, Ashley Oakes, and Cecilia Compton.

Conflict of interest

Sara T. Kover, Andrea S. McDuffie and Leonard Abbeduto have no conflicts of interest. Randi J. Hagerman has received funding from Novartis, Roche, and Seaside Therapeutics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Room 475, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    Sara T. Kover

  2. MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Andrea S. McDuffie, Randi J. Hagerman & Leonard Abbeduto

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Andrea S. McDuffie & Leonard Abbeduto

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Randi J. Hagerman

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  1. Sara T. Kover
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  4. Leonard Abbeduto
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Correspondence to Sara T. Kover.

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Kover, S.T., McDuffie, A.S., Hagerman, R.J. et al. Receptive Vocabulary in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Cross-Sectional Developmental Trajectories. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 2696–2709 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1823-x

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