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Expressive Dominant Versus Receptive Dominant Language Patterns in Young Children: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development

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Abstract

We examined language profiles of 2571 children, 30–68 months old, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), other developmental disabilities (DD), and typical development from the general population (POP). Children were categorized as expressive dominant (ED), receptive dominant (RD), or nondominant (ND). Within each group, the ED profile was the least frequent. However, children in the ASD group were more likely to display an ED profile than those in the DD or POP groups, and these children were typically younger, had lower nonverbal cognitive skills, and displayed more severe social-affect symptoms of ASD compared to their peers with RD or ND profiles. These findings have research and clinical implications related to the focus of interventions targeting young children with ASD and other DDs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by six cooperative agreements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Cooperative Agreements Numbers U10DD000180, U10DD000181, U10DD000182, U10DD000183, U10DD000184, and U10DD000498). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Author notes

  1. J. Fairchild

    Present address: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

  2. A. H. Herring

    Present address: Statistical Science & Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    D. B. Reinhartsen & J. Fairchild

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    A. L. Tapia

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

    L. Watson & E. Crais

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    C. Bradley

  5. Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    A. H. Herring

  6. Departments of Epidemiology & Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    J. Daniels

  7. Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, 101 Renee Lynne Court, Carrboro, NC, 27510, USA

    D. B. Reinhartsen

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  1. D. B. Reinhartsen
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Contributions

DBR, ALT, LW, EC, AHH conceived and designed the analysis; DBR, CB collected the data; ALT, JD contributed data or analysis tools; ALT performed the analysis; DBR, ALT, LW, EC, CB, JF, JD wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to D. B. Reinhartsen.

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Reinhartsen, D.B., Tapia, A.L., Watson, L. et al. Expressive Dominant Versus Receptive Dominant Language Patterns in Young Children: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 2447–2460 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03999-x

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