Arutiunian et al., 20221414. Arutiunian V, Lopukhina A, Minnigulova A, Shlyakhova A, Davydova E, Pereverzeva D et al. Language abilities of Russian primary-school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from comprehensive assessment. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022;52(2):584-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04967-0 PMID: 33733294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04967...
|
Russia |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 82 children (17 girls) TD: 25 children (11 girls) |
Russian Child Language Assessment Battery Phoneme detection test from the Russian Test of Phonological Processing Custom-made word repetition test |
Pragmatic Morphosyntactic Semantic Phonological |
Children with ASD had high variability in language skills (from normal to deficient). Children with ASD had more difficulty understanding speech and answering implicit questions. Children with ASD had lower sentence processing scores than TD children. They repeated short sentences and phrases with high-frequency words better than long sentences and sentences made up of low-frequency words. Children with ASD performed worse in object naming, action naming, noun comprehension, and verb comprehension than TD children. Children with ASD had more difficulty with pseudoword repetitions, phoneme detection, and phonological discrimination than TD children. |
7 to 11 years |
Broome et al., 20212828. Broome K, McCabe P, Kimberley A, Doble M, Carrigg B. Speech abilities in a heterogeneous group of children with Autism. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2021;64(12):4599-613. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00651 PMID: 34731586. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00...
|
Australia |
Longitudinal descriptive |
ASD: 23 children (2 girls) |
Preschool Language Scale-Fourth Edition (PLS-4) Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS) Polysyllable Preschool Test (POP) First Words First Sentences Test (FWFST) Spontaneous speech samples |
Pragmatic Semantic Phonological |
Children with ASD had high variability in language skills. However, in general, there was a tendency towards greater receptive than expressive vocabulary and greater production of initial consonants in relation to the middle or final consonants. To better describe the children’s language characteristics, they were divided into three subgroups (A, B, and C) according to their functioning: A. Relatively high speech and language skills: children had high receptive and expressive vocabulary, high nonverbal communication, and high speech; they made few articulation errors. B. Greater receptive and nonverbal communication skills in relation to speech and expressive language: children had high receptive vocabulary, high nonverbal communication, low expressive vocabulary, and low speech; they used few words and had low phonemic precision. C. Low language and speech ability: children had low language, nonverbal communication, and speech levels; they used fewer than 10 recognizable words. |
2 to 6 years |
Ferrara et al., 20201515. Ferrara M, Camia M, Cecere V, Villata V, Vivenzio N, Scorza M et al. Language and pragmatics across neurodevelopmental disorders: An investigation using the Italian version of CCC-2. Journal Autism Dev Disord. 2020;50(4):1295-309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04358-6 PMID: 31901121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04358...
|
Italy |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 19 children TD: 70 children (34 girls) |
Children’s Communication Checklist 2 (CCC-2) |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD had a high level of stereotypical language and difficulty in initiating and using contexts. |
8 to 10 years |
Mazzagio, Shield, 20201616. Mazzaggio G, Shield A. The production of pronouns and verb inflections by Italian children with ASD: A new dataset in a null subject language. J Autism Dev Disord. 2020;50(4):1425-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04349-7 PMID: 31894460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04349...
|
Italy |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 23 children (2 girls) TD: 35 children (18 girls) |
Children’s Communication Checklist 2 (CCC-2) |
Morphosyntactic Pragmatic |
Children with ASD were less likely to produce pronouns in the context of picture identification but more likely to produce overt rather than null pronouns in association with verbs that are marked for first- and second-person subjects. Children with ASD have been able to acquire and use pronominal forms but struggle to understand when and where to use them conventionally, pointing to underlying challenges with pragmatics. |
ASD: 3.7 to 10.3 years. TD: 4.8 to 6.4 years |
Baixauli-Fortea et al., 20191717. Baixauli-Forteaa I, Casasb AM, Berenguer-Fornerb C, Colomer-Diagoc C, Roselló-Miranda B. Pragmatic competence of children with autism spectrum disorder. Impact of theory of mind, verbal working memory, ADHD symptoms, and structural language. Appl Neuropsychol Child. 2019;8(2):101-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622965.2017.1392861 PMID: 29161137. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622965.2017.13...
|
Spain |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 52 children TD: 37 children (18 girls) |
Children’s Communication Checklist 2 (CCC-2) |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD had stereotypical language, difficulty in initiation, use of context and nonverbal language, and included irrelevant details in the narrative. |
7 to 11 years |
Friedman, Sterling, 201933. Silva EAM. Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) e a linguagem: a importância de desenvolver a comunicação. Revista Psicologia & Saberes. 2020;9(18):174-88. |
USA |
Narrative literature review |
74 studies |
Not applicable |
Pragmatic Morphosyntactic Semantic |
Children with ASD had: - Difficulties with maintaining the topic, greetings and goodbyes, changing appropriate direction, and using conversation repair strategies. - Difficulties with sentence structuring, regular and irregular past tense, present tense, and regular third-person singular verbs. - Deficit in the production and understanding of personal pronouns, mental state terms, and prepositions. |
Kim et al., 20181818. Kim N, Choi U, Ha S, Lee SH, Song DH, Cheon K. Aberrant neural activation underlying idiom comprehension in Korean children with high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. Yonsei Med J. 2018;59(7):897-903. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2018.59.7.897 PMID: 30091324. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2018.59.7.89...
|
South Korea |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 15 children (1 girl) TD: 18 children (8 girls) |
Korean Autism Social Language Task (KASLAT) |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD had difficulties interpreting sentences according to the context, especially regarding idiomatic expressions. |
mean age ± SD ASD: 9.66 ± 2.19 TD: 10.47 ± 2.78 |
Brynskov et al., 20171919. Brynskov C, Eigsti I-M, Jørgensen M, Lemcke S, Bohn O-S, Krøjgaard P. Syntax and morphology in Danish-speaking children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2017;47(2):373-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2962-7 PMID: 27844246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2962-...
|
Denmark |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 21 children (5 girls) TD: 21 children (6 girls) |
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Preschool, Second Edition (CELF Preschool - 2),
Dansk Impressiv Morfologisk (DIM) test |
Morphosyntactic |
Children with ASD repeated sentences within the short-term memory period without fully understanding or knowing the grammar and had poor verbal inflection and use of pronouns. There was great variability in the results. |
ASD: 5 to 6 years TD: 4 to 6 years |
Lane et al., 20162727. Lane JD, Shepley S, Lieberman-Betz R. Promoting expressive language in young children with or at-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder in a preschool classroom. J Autism Dev Disord. 2016;46(10):3216-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2856-8 Erratum in: J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Feb;47(2):523. PMID: 27422402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2856-...
|
USA |
Cross-sectional descriptive |
ASD: 4 children |
Behavioral observation - free activity |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD were less likely to use meaningful verbalizations to communicate desires and interests. |
4 to 5 years |
Lee et al., 20152020. Lee SB, Song SH, Ham JH, Song DH, Cheon K. Idiom comprehension deficits in high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder using a Korean Autism Social Language Task. Yonsei Med J. 2015;56(6):1613-8. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2015.56.6.1613 PMID: 26446644. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2015.56.6.16...
|
South Korea |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 16 children (4 girls) TDAH: 16 children (2 girls) TD: 10 children |
Korean Autism Social Language Task (KASLAT) |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD faced greater difficulty than TD children in understanding idiomatic expressions. They failed to consider the social context and tended to interpret expressions literally. |
mean age ± SD ASD: 9.31 ± 1.70 ADHD: 8.00 ± 1.59 |
Suh et al., 20142121. Suh J, Eigsti I, Naigles L, Barton M, Kelley E, Fein D. Narrative performance of optimal outcome children and adolescents with a history of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Journal Autism Dev Disord. 2014;44(7):1681-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2042-9 PMID: 24500659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2042-...
|
USA |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD (previous treatment and no current symptoms): 15 children. High-functioning ASD: 15 children TD: 15 children |
Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) |
Morphosyntactic Pragmatic |
Children with ASD without apparent symptoms and high-functioning ASD had self-correction disfluency and idiosyncratic language. All three groups had well-developed morphological and syntactic language skills. |
9 to 15 years |
Paul et al., 20102222. Paul R, Orlovski SM, Marcinko HC, Volkmar F. Conversational behaviors in youth with high-functioning ASD and Asperger syndrome. Journal Autism Dev Disord. 2009;39(1):115-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0607-1 PMID: 18607708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0607-...
|
USA |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 9 children Asperger: 15 children Pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified: 5 children TD: 26 children. |
Pragmatic Rating Scale (PRS) Coding |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD had difficulties in managing topics and information related to difficulties in presuppositional skills and obtaining reciprocity related to attention and sensitivity to the partner's verbal and nonverbal cues. Difficulties in both verbal and nonverbal skills to maintain a balanced conversational exchange. |
2 to 18 years |
Amato, Fernandes, 20102323. Amato CAH, Fernandes FDM. O uso interativo da comunicação em crianças autistas verbais e não verbais. Pró-Fono R. Atual. Cient. 2010;22(4):373-8. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-56872010000400002 https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-5687201000...
|
Brazil |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 20 children (3 girls) |
Pragmatic test - ABFW |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD had difficulty interacting with others. Both nonverbal and verbal children with ASD made great use of gestures to communicate. The group of verbal children with ASD use more the verbal environment and less the vocal environment than nonverbal children with ASD, as observed in TD children. |
2 to 10 years |
Saad, Godfield, 20092626. Lewis FM, Murdoch BE, Woodyatt GC. Communicative competence and metalinguistic ability: Performance by children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2007;37(8):1525-38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0265-0 PMID: 17665298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0265-...
|
Brazil |
Narrative literature review |
27 studies |
Not applicable |
Pragmatic Semantic |
Children with ASD had greater difficulties in understanding idiomatic expressions than TD children and those with ADHD. Also, children with ASD tended not to consider the social context and interpret expressions literally. |
Suh et al., 20142121. Suh J, Eigsti I, Naigles L, Barton M, Kelley E, Fein D. Narrative performance of optimal outcome children and adolescents with a history of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Journal Autism Dev Disord. 2014;44(7):1681-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2042-9 PMID: 24500659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2042-...
|
USA |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD (previous treatment and non-apparent current symptoms): 15 children. High-functioning ASD: 15 children TD: 15 children |
Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) |
Morphosyntactic Pragmatic |
Children with ASD without apparent symptoms and high-functioning ASD had self-correction disfluency and idiosyncratic language. All three groups had well-developed morphological and syntactic language skills. |
9 to 15 years |
Paul et al., 20102222. Paul R, Orlovski SM, Marcinko HC, Volkmar F. Conversational behaviors in youth with high-functioning ASD and Asperger syndrome. Journal Autism Dev Disord. 2009;39(1):115-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0607-1 PMID: 18607708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0607-...
|
USA |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 9 children Asperger: 15 children Pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified: 5 children TD: 26 children |
Pragmatic Rating Scale (PRS) Coding |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD had difficulties in managing topics and information, related to difficulties in presuppositional skills, and obtaining reciprocity, related to attention and sensitivity to the partner's verbal and nonverbal cues. Difficulties in both verbal and nonverbal skills to maintain a balanced conversational exchange. |
2 to 18 years |
Amato, Fernandes, 20102323. Amato CAH, Fernandes FDM. O uso interativo da comunicação em crianças autistas verbais e não verbais. Pró-Fono R. Atual. Cient. 2010;22(4):373-8. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-56872010000400002 https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-5687201000...
|
Brazil |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 20 children (3 girls) |
Pragmatic test - ABFW |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD had difficulty interacting with others. Both nonverbal and verbal children with ASD made great use of gestures to communicate. The group of verbal children with ASD used more the verbal environment and less the vocal environment than nonverbal children with ASD, as observed in TD children. |
2 to 10 years |
Saad, Godfield, 20092626. Lewis FM, Murdoch BE, Woodyatt GC. Communicative competence and metalinguistic ability: Performance by children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2007;37(8):1525-38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0265-0 PMID: 17665298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0265-...
|
Brazil |
Narrative literature review |
27 studies |
Not applicable |
Pragmatic Semantic |
Children with ASD had greater difficulties in understanding idiomatic expressions than TD children and those with ADHD. Also, children with ASD tended not to consider the social context and interpret expressions literally. |
Lewis et al., 20072424. Saad AGF, Goldfeld M. A ecolalia no desenvolvimento da linguagem de pessoas autistas: uma revisão bibliográfica. Pró-Fono R. Atual. Cient. 2009;21(3):255-60. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-56872009000300013 https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-5687200900...
|
Australia |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 20 children (4 girls) TD: 28 children |
Test of Language Competence-Expanded Edition (TLC-E)
The Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-Second Edition (TONI-2) |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD were less skilled at resolving ambiguity, understanding inferential language, and using linguistic flexibility to produce speech within a communicative situation. |
ASD: 9 to 17 years |
Stone et al., 19972525. Stone WL, Ousley OY, Yoder PJ, Hogan KL, Hepburn SL. Nonverbal communication in two- and three-year-old children with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 1997;27(6):677-96. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1025854816091 PMID: 9455728. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1025854816091...
|
USA |
Cross-sectional analytical |
ASD: 14 children Language delay: 14 children |
Prelinguistic Communication Assessment (PCA) |
Pragmatic |
Children with ASD were more likely to request objects or actions and less likely to direct the examiner's attention to an object or activity of interest (i.e., comment). They also demonstrated a lower rate and proportionally fewer gestures associated with commenting (i.e., pointing and showing objects), a lower rate, and proportionally fewer acts involving staring. They performed direct manipulation of the examiner's hand, mainly to request. |