1. Ellis Weismer S, Gernsbacher MA, Stronach S, Karasinski C, Eernisse ER, Venker CE, Sindberg H. {{Lexical and Grammatical Skills in Toddlers on the Autism Spectrum Compared to Late Talking Toddlers}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2010 (Nov 9)
This study compared language development in 30-month-old toddlers on the autism spectrum and 25-month-old late talking toddlers without autism. Groups were matched on overall productive vocabulary (and nonverbal cognition was controlled) in order to compare language acquisition patterns related to vocabulary composition and early lexical-grammatical relationships. Findings revealed that semantic categories of words-including psychological state terms-used by toddlers on the autism spectrum were very similar to those of late talkers. Both groups were equivalent with respect to grammatical complexity and proportion of toddlers combining words, though late talkers displayed a relatively stronger association between lexical-grammatical abilities. These tentative findings are consistent with a dimensional account of early, core linguistic abilities across different populations of children with language delay.
2. Lord CE. {{Autism: From research to practice}}. {Am Psychol};2010 (Nov);65(8):815-826.
Autism is the most commonly studied of a spectrum of developmental disorders that are believed to be neurobiologically based but which, at this point, for lack of good biomarkers, are defined purely by behavior. In the last 20 years, the definition of autism has shifted in emphasis from extreme aloofness and positive signs of abnormality in repetitive and sensorimotor behaviors to a greater awareness of the importance of more subtle reciprocal social communication deficits as core features. Standard diagnostic instruments were developed for research purposes to acquire information both through caregiver interviews and direct clinical observation. Use of these instruments in clinical practice resulted in major improvements, which in turn affected research results. These results yielded further improvements that led to changes in clinical practice over time. The synergism between research and clinical practice in the understanding of autism is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
3. Pexman PM, Rostad KR, McMorris CA, Climie EA, Stowkowy J, Glenwright MR. {{Processing of Ironic Language in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2010 (Nov 9)
We examined processing of verbal irony in three groups of children: (1) 18 children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD), (2) 18 typically-developing children, matched to the first group for verbal ability, and (3) 18 typically-developing children matched to the first group for chronological age. We utilized an irony comprehension task that minimized verbal and pragmatic demands for participants. Results showed that children with HFASD were as accurate as typically-developing children in judging speaker intent for ironic criticisms, but group differences in judgment latencies, eye gaze, and humor evaluations suggested that children with HFASD applied a different processing strategy for irony comprehension; one that resulted in less accurate appreciation of the social functions of irony.
