Communication Impairments In Children Research Articles

Behavioral Characteristics of Children with Autistic Disorders

This study aims to describe the Behavioral characteristics of children with Autistic disorders, at the Autism Center in Sulaimani Governorate. This study investigates the behavioral traits of children who have been diagnosed with autism at the Sulaimani Autism Center in the Sulaimani governorate. The research period spans from November 2013 to May 2014. The findings of the study revealed that children exhibit difficulties in social interaction, with the highest percentage of responses being observed in the item "Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction," accounting for 88%. This was closely followed by the item "Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language," which accounted for 82% of the responses. The prevalence of communication impairments in children is greatest in the category of "Delay in, or complete absence of, the development of spoken language (without any effort to utilize alternative forms of communication such as gestures or mime)," accounting for 80% of cases. In relation to the restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, it has been observed that children exhibit the highest frequency towards the item "Preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus," accounting for 62% of cases. Furthermore, the item "Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting or complex whole-body movements)" has the lowest frequency.

Aberrant Emotional Prosody Circuitry Predicts Social Communication Impairments in Children With Autism

BackgroundEmotional prosody provides acoustical cues that reflect a communication partner’s emotional state and is crucial for successful social interactions. Many children with autism have deficits in recognizing emotions from voices; however, the neural basis for these impairments is unknown. We examined brain circuit features underlying emotional prosody processing deficits and their relationship to clinical symptoms of autism. MethodsWe used an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging task to measure neural activity and connectivity during processing of sad and happy emotional prosody and neutral speech in 22 children with autism and 21 matched control children (7–12 years old). We employed functional connectivity analyses to test competing theoretical accounts that attribute emotional prosody impairments to either sensory processing deficits in auditory cortex or theory of mind deficits instantiated in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). ResultsChildren with autism showed specific behavioral impairments for recognizing emotions from voices. They also showed aberrant functional connectivity between voice-sensitive auditory cortex and the bilateral TPJ during emotional prosody processing. Neural activity in the bilateral TPJ during processing of both sad and happy emotional prosody stimuli was associated with social communication impairments in children with autism. In contrast, activity and decoding of emotional prosody in auditory cortex was comparable between autism and control groups and did not predict social communication impairments. ConclusionsOur findings support a social-cognitive deficit model of autism by identifying a role for TPJ dysfunction during emotional prosody processing. Our study underscores the importance of tuning in to vocal-emotional cues for building social connections in children with autism.

Examining the efficacy of dance movement and music mixed treatment on social communication impairment in children with autism - Based on family parent-child situation.

Despite impairments in social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), existing studies only examine the effects of either MT or DMT interventions. In the family setting, few studies have investigated interventions for social communication impairments in children with ASD. This study designed and tested a mixed intervention program of both MT and DMT through a 3-month intervention and training for children with ASD in the family setting including parent and child. A pre-test and post-test were conducted in the experimental and control groups, and the childhood autism rating scale (CARS) and autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC) scales were used to assess the severity of ASD symptoms and the effects of intervention. A t-test and analysis of variance were performed based on the experimental results. The results indicated that the experimental and control groups did not differ significantly on the CARS pre-test (t = 1.218, p > 0.05) and that there was no significant difference in the ATEC pre-test (t = 0.546, p > 0.05; F = 0.074, p > 0.05, partial η2 = 0.003). There was no significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for the CARS in the control group (t = 0.635, p > 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for the ATEC in the control group (t = 0.027, p > 0.05; F = 5.251, p > 0.05, partial η2 = 0.313). There was a significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores on the CARS in the experimental group (t = 4.327, p > 0.05) and the pre- and post-test scores on the ATEC in the experimental group (t = 5.763, p > 0.01; F = 32.615, p > 0.01, partial η2 = 0.759), with the post-test scores being lower than the pre-test scores. This demonstrates that the mixed intervention of MT and DMT in the family parent-child setting can reduce autism and improve social communication impairment in children with ASD.

Prediction of Communication Impairment in Children With Bilateral Cerebral Palsy Using Multivariate Lesion- and Connectome-Based Approaches: Protocol for a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study.

BackgroundBilateral cerebral palsy (BCP) is the most common type of CP in children and is often accompanied by different degrees of communication impairment. Several studies have attempted to identify children at high risk for communication impairment. However, most prediction factors are qualitative and subjective and may be influenced by rater bias. Individualized objective diagnostic and/or prediction methods are still lacking, and an effective method is urgently needed to guide clinical diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study is to develop and validate an objective, individual-based model for the prediction of communication impairment in children with BCP by the time they enter school.MethodsA multicenter prospective cohort study will be conducted in four Chinese hospitals. A total of 178 children with BCP will undergo advanced brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline (corrected age, before the age of 2 years). At school entry, communication performance will be assessed by a communication function classification system (CFCS). Three-quarters of children with BCP will be allocated as a training cohort, whereas the remaining children will be allocated as a test cohort. Multivariate lesion- and connectome-based approaches, which have shown good predictive ability of language performance in stroke patients, will be applied to extract features from MR images for each child with BCP. Multiple machine learning models using extracted features to predict communication impairment for each child with BCP will be constructed using data from the training cohort and externally validated using data from the test cohort. Prediction accuracy across models in the test cohort will be statistically compared.DiscussionThe findings of the study may lead to the development of several translational tools that can individually predict communication impairment in children newly diagnosed with BCP to ensure that these children receive early, targeted therapeutic intervention before they begin school.Trial registrationThe study has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100049497).

Serebral Palsili Çocuklarda İletişim Fonksiyonlarını Etkileyen Faktörlerin değerlendirilmesi

Objective: Communication disorders are one of the most common dysfunctions observed in cerebral palsy (CP). Our aim in this study was to explore clinical factors and socio-demographic characteristics associated with communication impairments in children with CP. Material and Methods: One hundred and three CP children were evaluated with Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) for communication skills. Socio-demographic characteristics of the parents and detailed clinical data were collected. Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) were used for the analysis of motor functions. The effect of all obtained data on communication skills was examined. Results: The rates of the children with the highest and lowest level of CFCS were 21.4% and 23.3%, respectively. The presence of any comorbid disease, dyskinetic/quadriplegic CP subtype, poorer motor functional level, lower education level of the mother and lower rehabilitation intensity were found to be associated with communication impairments (p<0.05). Conclusion: Communication is very important to lead a healthy and happy life in the social environment. This situation becomes more important for individuals with CP who have difficulty in adapting to society due to physical limitations. Therefore, it is very important to thoroughly evaluate the individuals with CP in terms of communication skills, to analyze the risk factors affecting communication and to make the necessary interventions on time to develop these skills.

Cognitive Communication Impairments in Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review.

This scoping review synthesizes the scholarly literature on cognitive communication impairments in traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained during childhood to identify gaps in research, and make recommendations that will further the field of cognitive communication in pediatric TBI. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies that examined cognitive communication impairments in children who sustained a TBI between 3 months to 18 years of age. Twenty-eight studies met inclusion criteria with 3 main categories identified in relation to cognitive communication: (1) impairments according to TBI severity, (2) impairments according to age at injury, and (3) trends in recovery according to TBI severity. The results of this scoping review suggest that (1) TBI severity is not the sole predictor of performance; other factors contribute to cognitive communication outcome and recovery; (2) developing skills at time of injury are most susceptible to impairment; and (3) standard, norm-referenced language assessments are not sensitive in detecting language impairments that are secondary to cognitive impairments found in TBI. Directions for future research and suggestions for clinical practice are proposed.

SMARTer Approach to Personalizing Intervention for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This review article introduces research methods for personalization of intervention. Our goals are to review evidence-based practices for improving social communication impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder generally and then how these practices can be systematized in ways that personalize intervention, especially for children who respond slowly to an initial evidence-based practice. The narrative reflects on the current status of modular and targeted interventions on social communication outcomes in the field of autism research. Questions are introduced regarding personalization of interventions that can be addressed through research methods. These research methods include adaptive treatment designs and the Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial. Examples of empirical studies using research designs are presented to answer questions of personalization. Bridging the gap between research studies and clinical practice can be advanced by research that attempts to answer questions pertinent to the broad heterogeneity in children with autism spectrum disorder, their response to interventions, and the fact that a single intervention is not effective for all children. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7298021.

Design of Immersive Virtual Reality System to Improve Communication Skills in Individuals with Autism

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) regularly experience situations in which they need to give answers but do not know how to respond; for example, questions related to everyday life activities that are asked by strangers. Research geared at utilizing technology to mend social and communication impairments in children with autism is actively underway. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is a relatively recent technology that has the potential of being an effective therapeutic tool for developing various skills in autistic children. This paper presents an interactive scenario-based VR system developed to improve the communications skills of autistic children. The system utilizes speech recognition to provide natural interaction and role-play and turn-taking to evaluate and verify the effectiveness of the immersive environment on the social performance of autistic children. In experiments conducted, participants showed more improved performance with a computer augmented virtual environment (CAVE) than with a head mounted display (HMD) or a normal desktop. The results indicate that immersive VR could be more satisfactory and motivational than desktop for children with ASD.

Immersive Virtual Reality in Improving Communication Skills in Children with Autism

Individuals in the Autism Spectrum often encounter situations where they have to respond to questions and situations that they do not know how to respond to, such as, questions asked by strangers including ones related to daily-life activities. A variety of research has been done to improve social and communication impairments in children with autism using technology. Immersive virtual reality is a relatively recent technology with a potential to bring an effective solution and used as a therapeutic tool to develop different skills. This paper presents a virtual reality solution to reduce the gap experienced by autistic children due to their inability to establish a communication. An interactive scenario-based system that uses role-play and turn-taking technique was implemented to evaluate and verify the effectiveness of immersive environment on the social performance of an autistic child. Preliminary testing of the system demonstrated the feasibility of VR-based system as a took for improving the communication skill in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children. The results of the comparative usability study show the effectiveness of immersive VR in motivating and satisfying the autistic.

Communication Impairments in Children with Inborn Errors of Metabolism: A Preliminary Study.

Purpose:Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEMs) are a group of complex genetic conditions, predominantly affecting the pediatric population. While the understanding and identification of various IEMs has significantly improved over recent times, not much is known about the communication disorders in this population. The present study focused on identification and profiling of communication impairments in children diagnosed with IEMs.Methods:Data was obtained retrospectively from medical records of children visiting a tertiary care hospital over a period of ten years (2005 – 2014). Selected data was reviewed to obtain demographic details, clinical signs/manifestations, laboratory findings, risk factors, developmental disorders and reported communication impairments.Results:The findings of the study showed a variety of clinical signs and laboratory findings in children with inborn errors of metabolism. A few of the risk factors observed in the group were consanguinity, sibling death and family history of other disorders. Many children with IEM displayed communication disorders, most common as the delay in speech and language development.Conclusions:The results of this study showed that various communication disorders were seen in almost half of the children with a diagnosis of IEM. Findings are discussed with implications for future research in this direction.

Characteristics of communication among Japanese children with autism spectrum disorder: A cluster analysis using the Children’s Communication Checklist-2

ABSTRACTSome overlap has been suggested among the subtypes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. The Japanese version of the Children’s Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2) is a useful measure for identifying profiles in relation to communication impairments in children with ASD. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the CCC-2 could identify subtypes in relation to communication impairments in Japanese children with ASD. The study participants were 113 children with ASD but without intellectual disabilities aged 3–12 years. Parents were given the Japanese version of the CCC-2 and asked to rate their children, who were then classified into two groups based on statistical analysis. Significant differences were found between clusters in mean CCC-2 subscales. These results suggest that one subtype was associated with low language competence and strong characteristics of autism, while the other was associated with relatively high language competence and milder characteristics of autism.

Relationship between brain lesion characteristics and communication in preschool children with cerebral palsy

BackgroundMRI shows promise as a prognostic tool for clinical findings such as gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy(CP), however the relationship with communication skills requires exploration. AimsTo examine the relationship between the type and severity of brain lesion on MRI and communication skills in children with CP. Methods and procedures131 children with CP (73 males(56%)), mean corrected age(SD) 28(5) months, Gross Motor Functional Classification System distribution: I=57(44%), II=14(11%), III=19(14%), IV=17(13%), V=24(18%). Children were assessed on the Communication and Symbolic Behavioral Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP) Infant-Toddler Checklist. Structural MRI was analysed with reference to type and semi-quantitative assessment of the severity of brain lesion. Children were classified for motor type, distribution and GMFCS. The relationships between type/severity of brain lesion and communication ability were analysed using multivariable tobit regression. Outcomes and resultsChildren with periventricular white matter lesions had better speech than children with cortical/deep grey matter lesions (β=−2.6, 95%CI=−5.0, −0.2, p=0.04). Brain lesion severity on the semi-quantitative scale was related to overall communication skills (β=−0.9, 95%CI=−1.4, −0.5, p<0.001). Motor impairment better accounted for impairment in overall communication skills than brain lesion severity. ImplicationsStructural MRI has potential prognostic value for communication impairment in children with CP. What this paper adds?This is the first paper to explore important aspects of communication in relation to the type and severity of brain lesion on MRI in a representative cohort of preschool-aged children with CP. We found a relationship between the type of brain lesion and communication skills, children who had cortical and deep grey matter lesions had overall communication skills>1 SD below children with periventricular white matter lesions. Children with more severe brain lesions on MRI had poorer overall communication skills. Children with CP born at term had poorer communication than those born prematurely and were more likely to have cortical and deep grey matter lesions. Gross motor function better accounted for overall communication skills than the type of brain lesion or brain lesion severity.

Multi-touch User Interfaces to Treat Social, Communicative and Collaborative Impairments in Children with Autism: A Review

This paper concentrates in analyzing the paramount multitouch user interfaces that have been designed particularly to treat children having Autism. The proximity of these works with the due child computer interaction expertise is scrutinized; on the basis of which some significant findings are concluded. These concluded features are considered to be the success factors of these multi-touch user interfaces and future directions are given that act as a pilot study for researchers who aim to develop user-centered interfaces for treating social, collaborative and communication impairments in children with Autism.

A population-based study of communication impairment in cerebral palsy.

To explore factors associated with communication impairments in children with cerebral palsy. Data were obtained on children born between 1999 and 2008 from the Quebec Cerebral Palsy Registry (REPACQ). Out of 535 children with cerebral palsy, 297 were identified to have communication impairments (55.5%). Of these, 96 were unable to communicate verbally (32.3%), 195 had some verbal communication (65.7%), and 6 were unspecified (2.0%). These children were significantly more likely to have a more severe motor deficit (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels IV and V and Manual Ability Classification System levels IV and V), to have spastic quadriplegia or dyskinetic subtypes of cerebral palsy, and gray matter injury on neuroimaging. Communication impairment is a common comorbidity in cerebral palsy and is associated with a more severe motor deficit, spastic quadriplegic or dyskinetic subtype of cerebral palsy, and gray matter injury on neuroimaging. This information allows clinicians to better predict and manage communication impairment in children with cerebral palsy.

Communication deficits in infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities

Research that focuses on detecting and assessing the presence of communication impairments in children with developmental disabilities exists. However, more research is needed which compares these deficits across individuals with various developmental disabilities. This information could inform the assessment process and treatment programs. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine communication deficits in toddlers who were diagnosed with Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy (CP), had a history of seizures or a seizure disorder, and who were born premature. A total of 140 toddlers 17-35 months of age met inclusion criteria for the study. Those diagnosed with CP evinced significantly fewer communication impairments on the Baby and Infant Screen for aUtIsm Traits-Part 1 (BISCUIT-Part 1) than children with Down syndrome and children with a history of seizures or seizure disorder. No significant differences were found on the communication subscale for the comparison of those with CP and those born prematurely. Children diagnosed with CP had fewer endorsements, indicating less impairment, on all six items of the Communication subscale of the BISCUIT-Part 1 when compared to the three other diagnostic groups. Implications of these results are discussed for children with differing handicaps.

Klinefelter syndrome as a window on the aetiology of language and communication impairments in children: the neuroligin–neurexin hypothesis

AimTo compare the phenotype in Klinefelter syndrome (KS) with (i) specific language impairment (SLI) and (ii) XXX and XYY trisomies.MethodsPhenotypes of KS, XXX and XYY were based on data from a systematic review of neurodevelopmental outcomes plus a recent parent survey. Phenotype of SLI was based on a published survey of children attending a special school.ResultsThere are close similarities between the KS phenotype and SLI. Furthermore, a minority of children with KS have features of autistic spectrum disorder. Similar language and communication problems are seen in the other two sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs), XXX and XYY.ConclusionWe propose the neurexin–neuroligin hypothesis, based on the observation that neuroligin genes, which occur on both X and Y chromosomes, are involved in the same synaptic networks as neurexin genes with common variants that affect risk for SLI and autism. According to our hypothesis, the effect of a triple dose of neuroligin gene product will be particularly detrimental when it occurs in conjunction with specific variants of neurexin genes on other chromosomes. This speculative proposal demonstrates the potential of illuminating the aetiology of common neurodevelopmental disorders by studying children with SCTs.

Social communication impairments in children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome: Slow response time and the impact of prompting

In the present study children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome ( N = 13) and a matched control group of typically developing children and adolescents were presented with 26 vignettes of daily life situations, including irony, metaphors, contrary emotions, jealousy, social blunders, and understanding intentions. The participants in the AS group showed significant impairments in social communication. They needed significantly longer response times to solve the tasks and required significantly more prompt questions than the control persons. When analyzing the AS participants’ performances before any prompt questions had been given, their task performances were significantly poorer than after the prompts had been given indicating that without any prompt questions their task performance would have fallen markedly.

Oromotor dysfunction and communication impairments in children with cerebral palsy: a register study

to report the prevalence, clinical associations, and trends over time of oromotor dysfunction and communication impairments in children with cerebral palsy (CP). multiple sources of ascertainment were used and children followed up with a standardized assessment including motor speech problems, swallowing/chewing difficulties, excessive drooling, and communication impairments at age 5 years. a total of 1357 children born between 1980 and 2001 were studied (781 males, 576 females; median age 5y 11mo, interquartile range 3-9y; unilateral spastic CP, n=447; bilateral spastic CP, n=496; other, n=112; Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] level: I, 181; II, 563; III, 123; IV, 82; IV, 276). Of those with 'early-onset' CP (n=1268), 36% had motor speech problems, 21% had swallowing/chewing difficulties, 22% had excessive drooling, and 42% had communication impairments (excluding articulation defects). All impairments were significantly related to poorer gross motor function and intellectual impairment. In addition, motor speech problems were related to clinical subtype; swallowing/chewing problems and communication impairments to early mortality; and communication impairments to the presence of seizures. Of those with CP in GMFCS levels IV to V, a significant proportion showed a decline in the rate of motor speech impairment (p=0.008) and excessive drooling (p=0.009) over time. these impairments are common in children with CP and are associated with poorer gross motor function and intellectual impairment.

Preliminary evidence for deficits in multisensory integration in autism spectrum disorders: The mirror neuron hypothesis

Autism is a complex disorder, characterized by social, cognitive, communicative, and motor symptoms. One suggestion, proposed in the current study, to explain the spectrum of symptoms is an underlying impairment in multisensory integration (MSI) systems such as a mirror neuron-like system. The mirror neuron system, thought to play a critical role in skills such as imitation, empathy, and language can be thought of as a multisensory system, converting sensory stimuli into motor representations. Consistent with this, we report preliminary evidence for deficits in a task thought to tap into MSI—“the bouba-kiki task” in children with ASD. The bouba-kiki effect is produced when subjects are asked to pair nonsense shapes with nonsense “words”. We found that neurotypical children chose the nonsense “word” whose phonemic structure corresponded with the visual shape of the stimuli 88% of the time. This is presumably because of mirror neuron-like multisensory systems that integrate the visual shape with the corresponding motor gestures used to pronounce the nonsense word. Surprisingly, individuals with ASD only chose the corresponding name 56% of the time. The poor performance by the ASD group on this task suggests a deficit in MSI, perhaps related to impaired MSI brain systems. Though this is a behavioral study, it provides a testable hypothesis for the communication impairments in children with ASD that implicates a specific neural system and fits well with the current findings suggesting an impairment in the mirror systems in individuals with ASD.

The Social Role of Imitation in Autism

Individuals with autism exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills. This article reviews the importance of imitation in typical development, focusing on the social function of imitation and its role in the development of social communication skills. Second, it reviews evidence suggesting an association between imitation deficits and social communication impairments in children with autism. Third, it discusses limitations of the current method for teaching imitation that targets only the learning function of imitation. Finally, it describes a new imitation intervention designed to teach the social use of imitation in young children with autism.