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A Discrepancy in Comprehension and Production in Early Language Development in ASD: Is it Clinically Relevant?

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Abstract

This study examined the extent to which a discrepant comprehension-production profile (i.e., relatively more delayed comprehension than production) is characteristic of the early language phenotype in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and tracked the developmental progression of the profile. Our findings indicated that a discrepant comprehension-production profile distinguished toddlers (30 months) with ASD from late talkers without ASD (91% sensitivity, 100% specificity) in groups that were comparable on expressive language, age, and socioeconomic status. Longitudinal data for children with ASD revealed that the discrepant profile steadily decreased from 30 to 44 months until there was no significant comprehension-production difference at 66 months. In conclusion, results suggest that lower comprehension than production may be an age-specific marker of toddlers with ASD.

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Acknowledgments

The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIH. The authors are grateful to the Language Processes Lab members and the families and children who participated in this study.

Author Contributions

MD conceived of the study design and analysis approach, performed the statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript. SEW participated in the design and interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by research grants and a training grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded to the second author (NIH NIDCD R01 DC007223, NIH NIDCD R01 DC03731, NIH NIDCD T32 DC005359), and a core grant to the Waisman Center (NIH NICHD P30 HD03352).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Callier Center for Communication Disorders, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, 1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA

    Meghan M. Davidson

  2. Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave, Rm 473, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    Susan Ellis Weismer

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  1. Meghan M. Davidson
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Correspondence to Meghan M. Davidson.

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Meghan M. Davidson and Susan Ellis Weismer declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Informed consent was obtained from the parents or legal guardians of all participants included in the study.

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Davidson, M.M., Ellis Weismer, S. A Discrepancy in Comprehension and Production in Early Language Development in ASD: Is it Clinically Relevant?. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 2163–2175 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3135-z

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