Communication deficits in babies and infants with autism and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).
OBJECTIVE
To investigate if, and in what ways, communication impairments are present in toddlers (17-37 months) diagnosed with autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).


METHODS
Study 1-The scores of 20 toddlers with autism or PDD-NOS (i.e. ASD group) were compared to those of 20 typically-developing infants on the Communication sub-scale of the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT)-Part 1. Study 2-These same scores were compared between 660 toddlers who fell into three groups: autism, PDD-NOS and non-ASD-related developmentally delayed.


RESULTS
Infants with an ASD exhibited greater communication impairments than did typically-developing infants overall and on all items. Additionally, significant differences were found in overall communication impairments and the majority of individual items between all three groups in Study 2.


CONCLUSIONS
Significant communication impairments are present in toddlers diagnosed with autism and PDD-NOS before 37 months.
Horovitz
Max
M
Psychology, Louisiana State University, 3333 Woodlandridge Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70816, USA.
Matson
Johnny L
JL
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index