A Combined Spoken Language Intervention for a Minimally Verbal Child With Autism: A Clinical Case Study

Abstract

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a combined intervention program, incorporating both communication and speech production strategies, on the spoken language of a minimally verbal child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Method:This in-depth, clinical case study focused on a 4-year-old boy who was diagnosed with ASD. The study examined the spoken production of preselected words by the participant, using a combined intervention approach, consisting of three communication strategies and three speech production strategies during structured play. The target words were chosen based on aspects of neurotypical word learning during the first 50-word phase of language development. The combined intervention approach consisted of three communication strategies and three speech production strategies delivered during structured play activities.Results:The participant demonstrated improved spontaneous and imitative production of the target words during treatment and maintained production of the target words 1 month after treatment ended. Additionally, the boy demonstrated production of seven out of the eight target words on the posttreatment MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI): Words and Gestures, as well as an increase in the number of spoken words on the CDI that were more than what would be expected for a neurotypical child in a comparable developmental period. The communication strategy used most often was modeling (which required the child to respond), and the speech production strategy used most often was verbal modeling (which did not require the child to respond).Conclusions:There appeared to be a quantitative and qualitative difference in production of the target words before and after treatment. Clinical implications for using communication and speech production strategies in combination for minimally verbal children with ASD are discussed.