Autistic Preschool Research Articles

Prognosis of Language-Delayed and Autistic Preschool Children

The outcome of 18 children (13 males, 5 females) with severe developmental language delay and some features of autism (not fulfilling all criteria), examined at preschool age (mean age 4 years 4 months) and again 4 years later (mean age 8 years 7 months), was evaluated at the Institute of Child Health, London, UK.

Parental report of social behaviors in autistic preschoolers

The aim of this study was to identify specific social behaviors that differentiate autistic preschoolers from other children at comparable developmental levels. A parent report measure, the Preschool Social Behavior Checklist (PSBC), was developed for this purpose. The PSBC consists of 22 items representing social milestones usually achieved within the first 4 to 5 years of life. Results obtained from a sample of 20 parents of children with autism and 14 parents of children with mental retardation revealed group differences in specific aspects of imaginative play, peer play, and imitation skills. The importance of examining the specific manifestations of social deficits and implications for the diagnosis of autism are discussed.

Effects of a Group Contingency on the Frequency of Social Interactions among Autistic and Nonhandicapped Preschool Children: Making LRE Efficacious

This study was designed to evaluate the use of a group-oriented reinforcement contingency to (a) increase the frequency of verbal interaction between severely withdrawn, autistic preschool children and nonhandicapped peers, and (b) reduce the levels of teacher prompts needed to maintain interaction. After baseline, both handicapped and nonhandicapped children were taught initiation and response strategies and the frequency and types of teacher prompts were restricted. Initially, access to the group reinforcer depended upon all three play triads achieving an established criterion for appropriate interactions. The teacher awarded a token for each appropriate interaction, allowing children to monitor their progress. Marginal increases in appropriate interactions occurred under this condition. In a subsequent interdependent contingency system, differentially reinforcing each triad that met the established criterion produced reliable increases in appropriate social initiations and responses for both peers and handicapped children. Rates of teacher prompts remained low. Withdrawal of the group-oriented reinforcement contingency substantially reduced levels of appropriate initiations and responses by both peer confederates and handicapped children. Reinstatement of the group contingency resulted in immediate and significant increases in appropriate initiations and responses by both peers and handicapped children. The results suggest that (a) peers can be effectively taught strategies to increase the appropriate social behaviors of their withdrawn classmates, and (b) a group-oriented reinforcement contingency is an effective complement to teacher-prompted interventions and may be an effective means of systematically fading teacher prompts.

Psychometric Scatter in Retarded, Autistic Preschoolers as Measured by the Cattell

To determine whether psychometric scatter is characteristic of the developmental profile of young autistic children, the performance of 38 autistic children, as measured by the Cattell, was compared with the performance of MA matched samples of normal, Down's Syndrome and non-Down's Syndrome children with mental retardation. Results indicated significantly more psychometric scatter in the autistic group than in the other groups. Similarly, 66% of the autistic children vs 13, 26 and 32% of the normal, Down's and non-Down's samples, respectively, had significant scatter. Further analyses revealed that autistic children showed consistent relative strength in non-language and weakness in language.

Cluster analytic identification of autistic preschoolers.

Cluster analysis was performed on factor analytic symptom profiles obtained from the Achenbach CBCL for a clinical sample of 204 3- to 5-year-old boys containing 79 autistic and autistic-like children. Patterns of results across 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-cluster solutions are presented. Clustering identified an autistic group as soon as three clusters were formed. As more clusters were obtained, this autistic cluster was subdivided according to presence/absence of anxiety and level of functioning. Other clusters included an emotional/behavioral disorder group, with some differentiation into Externalizing and Internalizing clusters, and a group of relatively normal children with few symptoms.

Changing the Speech of Autistic Children and Their Parents

The parents of nine autistic preschool children were trained in behavior modification and operant techniques of teaching speech. The study used a multiple baseline design with Group 1 completing behavior modification training while Group 2 remained on the waiting list. Then, Group 1 entered speech training while Group 2 began behavior modification. Finally, Group 2 received speech training. Videotape assessments of parents and child were made pretreatment and after each stage of training. The tapes were coded reliably for the parents' speech oriented and non-speech oriented language and the childrens' speech and non-speech behaviors. There was no change in parental speech oriented language following behavior modification but a substantial rise in such language was noted after speech training. Both mothers and fathers changed after training, although mothers were consistently more active than fathers. Both before and after training, the parents of the more verbal children emitted more speech oriented langu...